Reply #108: Iceburg, I can answer some of these questions:

[Chili]

1. are the punch cards identical before being distributed to the precincts

From what I understand, yes, the punchcards should be identical - in other words, a Kerry vote should always be in position "6" on the ballot itself. But the rotations on the ballot pages are different in the precincts (5 possible rotations, always the same order in the rotation, as I think somebody said above)

3. are the templates fixed in the precinct or are the templates handed to a voter by a poll worker?

Not sure what you mean by template. You mean the ballots into the machines? The ballot "books" are fixed at the voting machine, attached to the booth. In my precinct, poll workers were sliding the ballots in for the voters; in other precincts, voters were putting them in themselves, which allowed room for upside-down ballots, backwards ballots, etc. There's no room for error if the poll worker puts the ballot into the machine for the voter, there are tabs that have to match and fix the ballot into place at the top.

4. do voters routinely check the precinct identifier before voting?

Speaking for myself? I had no idea what a precinct identifier was before the election.

5. after voting do voters deposit their cards in a box or feed it into a tabulator?

Into a metal box. In some places, voters put it in the boxes themselves. In my precinct, you handed it to a poll worker, who then put it into the box.

6. is there a tabulator for each precinct or can a single tabulator read multiple precincts with variant ballot orders?

Don't know this one, but I doubt very seriously there was a tabulator for each precinct. But please don't take my word for this.

7. do voters sign a log book when they check in or after they cast their vote?

Yes, it is required. In fact, my poll book had my signature from the last election, from the last time I voted (2000). I had a little moment of anxiety about it, too, because my signature has changed since then, I've shortened it.

8. what procedures are invoked to secure the ballots, machines, poll books during and after the vote?

From what I understand, the ballots and books are locked in metal boxes identifying the precinct, then taken back to the Bd. of E. for the count.

Anything question I didn't list, I didn't want to guess an answer.

I hope this helps.

Also, you asked in another post about malfunctioning machines in Cuyahoga County? Here's a list of them:

http://shadowbox.i8.com/Suppression/ohio/ohiomachines.htm#table4