The common sharpie might be responsible for as much confusion and harm to American voting as any other technology. Voting officials have wielded these little indelible markers with good intentions but absolute abandon, posting ad-hoc signs everywhere—where to go, how to register, what door to use, and where to find the bathroom. I’ve witnessed more than a few gotchas. At a recent election setup in Boston, official signs were carefully placed on the wheelchair-accessible entryway door. But once the doors swung open at 7 a.m., the signs became invisible. Poll workers then used sharpies to mark a circuitous path through a cafeteria to the polling place. They also marked a narrow entrance on the other side of the building as an afterthought, creating bottlenecks in all directions.
Source: America's Polling Places Desperately Need a Redesign | WIRED
