Like some of the officials mentioned in this article, I look back with some fondness at my first experience voting, using an old lever machine in Chicago. (The story concerns Connecticut’s decision to retire their last lever machines.)

There was nothing quite like the satisfying “Clunk!” that you heard when you slid the handle to close the secrecy drape.

There was nothing so simple as the “How to Vote” instructions that used to be distributed on cards by civically minded aldermen (Select Lever 27, Select the “All Democratic Party” Lever, register your choices).

And then there was the even more satisfying KERCHUNK / SPIN / KLUNK when you moved that final handle, spun the dials, moved the levers, and registered your ballot. So who ever cared if you knew nothing about the complex sprockets, gears, pulleys, and hamsters in that monstrous piece of mechanical hardware!

It’s the end of and era. If you have some spare space in your garage, Connecticut might be taking bids.