By Ted Selker (MIT)

I went to 3 polling places in Cambridge on the day of election. I was awestruck by the organization! In every place clear, huge, and consistent signage led the way to the polling place. In every case, the intake poll book pages were individually laid out without overlapping and taped to a the large intake table, the exit poll book pages were individually laid out without overlapping and taped to the exit table without overlapping. This practice really makes checking off voters easy and transparent. It especially eliminates the ease with which Boston poll workers circumvented the value separate records that make chain voting difficult by not letting a voter leave with a ballot without it being documented in a missing exit poll book entry. In every polling place red white and blue curtains gave voters privacy that is not seen in many polling places. In all places lighting was excellent, in one polling place a bulb hung in each poll booth. Privacy sleeves were used by some voters. The only place I have seen them used consistently was in a polling place in Boston in 2004 where the poll worker handed the voter their ballot in a privacy sleeve.