Letter: Why the costly paper ballots?

It is with frustration and despair that I read "Primary's cost still adding up" [News, May 7], about Nassau County disposing of $134,000 worth of paper ballots that were unused in last month's Republican primary.

In these dire economic times, our government continues to spend taxpayers' money frivolously. To read this latest insult is exasperating.

Then there's the issue of storing the used paper ballots for a period of two years -- yet another waste.

Can anyone explain why we had to go from the economical, sturdy, private voting machines without any paper waste, to this archaic, expensive, time-consuming and not-private voting system? It's disgusting that in an era of going green, we've done just the opposite.

Do we have any honest politicians out there willing to address the huge expense of elections from top to bottom?

Barbara Gilman, Old Bethpage