Reply #3: This is a well known and solved problem

[Catbird]

I was surprised at how long it took me to vote in the recent primaries. Very low turnout so no waits for other people to finish. However, the entire process took noticeably longer for a single voter than with the previous lever machines, which appeared to have been replaced on a one-to-one basis by iVotronics. And, if the new machines take longer per person, the lines will be longer. I anticipate a real hassle in November.

This is a fairly simple queuing theory problem. People know how to solve these. Unfortunately the election people don't seem to be talking with the queuing theory people.

Note to those advocating absentee or early voting -- South Carolina requires a documented reason from an approved list. And the absentee lines for those doing absentee voting in person were reported to be quite long at times during the 2004 election.