Touch-screen voting problematic and costly

MIAMI, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A growing number of counties across the United States are doing away with costly touch-screen voting machines due to a variety of problems.

Amidst reports of the electronic machines being unreliable and susceptible to computer hackers, county officials across the nation have begun trying to rid themselves of the expensive machines in time for the upcoming election, The New York Times said Friday.

This change in the counties' electoral process has been especially problematic in Florida, where officials are attempting to get rid of 25,000 of the machines.

But while voting machines in Florida were once a collector's item due to the voting turmoil the state was embroiled in after the 2004 presidential election, the newer machines are unwanted by nearly everyone.

"I think we are going to have them on hand for a while," Palm Beach County elections supervisor Arthur Anderson said. "They are probably, for the most part, headed to the scrap pile."

The Times said changing the voting machines also has proven costly for many U.S. counties, as some have not completely paid for the machines they now are seeking to abandon.