Dr. Cecil Knox and the Little Feet Meet in today’s letters to the editor.

Pick of the day: Oh, for the days of old, reliable voting machines

I am writing regarding the inefficiency of a voting machine at the Crystal Spring Firehouse in Roanoke. Surely there are other unreliable machines elsewhere in our area.

On May 1, I was attempting to write in a name. I typed the first letter, D, which appeared on the screen as Z. I repeated this three times with the same results as two poll workers witnessed. One suggested I press slightly above the letter with the eraser of a pencil. I did — to no avail. Then she informed me that the machine needed to be recalibrated.

If so, what good is that machine when it’s 6:40 p.m. and the poll closes at 7 p.m.?

How disappointing and inconvenient. I continued to spell out the name. However, some of the letters did not appear on the screen as typed.

Could such an inaccuracy even be counted, considering the error in spelling the machine registered? This was not the only time I have experienced glitches.

These machines are unreliable, unlike the previous design. How about an accurate system of voting? I miss the lever/curtain model. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (one of Murphy’s).

Let’s get back the old, simple, reliable machines.

DELORIS McKINNEY

ROANOKE