As a program officer at the National Science Foundation, I sponsored academic research into the design and implementation of electronic voting systems. I have also served as an election official in Fairfax County. I was glad to see the new scan vote system replacing the WinVote system, even though a few voters preferred the interface on the WinVote system. Although the WinVote system seems to have been reliable in many precincts, the key phrase is "seems to have been". The difficulty with all of the computer-based voting systems that lack a paper back-up is that there is a great deal of complex software between the touchscreen and the counting of the vote and that software, even though it may appear reliable, is very likely to have exploitable security flaws. The WinVote system is now also in the category of aging computer-based systems for which continuing support will be difficult and increasingly expensive to obtain.  It would be a good idea to initiate a plan for replacing this system statewide with a system that provides a recountable paper back up. The paper backup provides the ultimate defense against faulty hardware and software. An additional benefit of the scan vote system is that it helps eliminate long lines at the polls. Instead of requiring all voters to sequence through a limited number of computerized voting stations, all that's needed to have an additional voting station is a table and chair, a pencil, and a cardboard privacy screen.