I cast my ballot this evening! Positions for Alderman and School Board were all that were on the ballot here. The city bought new optical ballot-reading machines (each paper ballot was about 8 1/2 x 15!) to replace the old lever machines that were used last year. It felt a bit like I was taking a high-school test… filling out little ovals (albeit with a pen instead of a #2 pencil). Overall, I believe the paper ballot read by optical-scanning machines to be an excellent system. Very accurate (especially relative to punch-cards), much faster to count than standard paper ballots, and a (sizable) paper receipt in the event of a need to recount or examine the election.