Miscellaneous desk
< June 5	<< May \| June \| Jul >>	June 7 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

June 6

Recount (Movie)

Hi, I've just seen the movie Recount with Kevin Spacey, which focuses on the 2000 US presidential elections. The film revolves around the Votomatic voting machines, the famous punch cards. A question; but once the ballots had been counted with the Votomatic system used in Florida, were these machines equipped with memory cards that kept the totals? Or is it a film error or a bad interpretation of mine? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 17:31, 6 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know about those devices specifically, but often it's best to use old mechanical technology for voting machines. That is, counters with rotating gears, as those can't be hacked into, wiped with magnets, etc. SinisterLefty (talk) 22:35, 6 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The punch card stuff was discussed in endless detail in news media at the time, but damned if I can remember if the votomatic machines used memory cards, and the NORC study top level page about them doesn't say.[1] Lever machines are indeed hackable and they also aren't very secret, because they are mechanical so the different levers you can pull make slightly different sounds as they engage the gears and wheels. Those machines have mostly fallen out of use by now. 173.228.123.207 (talk) 03:02, 9 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You could break into them and change the counters, but this isn't a practical way of affecting the outcome of an election, as you would need to break into many such machines. On the other hand, Internet-connected machines that leave no physical record could all be hacked simultaneously, and that would be a practical way to change the outcome of an election. SinisterLefty (talk) 03:17, 9 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Resident-only visas

As I understand it, if a non-US citizen wants to reside full-year in the US, they have to get a green card, which is a combination residence permit and work permit, even if they don't plan to work (typically because they're retired). There is apparently no such thing as a tourist visa that is renewable indefinitely without having to leave the country for a period of time. Is this the international norm, or are there countries that issue residence-only permits? Loraof (talk) 18:42, 6 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Most countries require something more than just flashing your passport if you want to stay there more than a certain number of days a year or in a stretch (usually 90 or 180 days). The amount of hoops needed to jump in order to fulfill these requirements will vary but I doubt USA is the only country with such a stringent policy (I think Persian Gulf countries have similar requirements). 93.136.8.0 (talk) 22:52, 6 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would consider the phrase a tourist visa that is renewable indefinitely without having to leave the country an oxymoron. 151.225.18.171 (talk) 15:49, 7 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking (as the IP above implies). If it helps, many countries (mostly third world/tropical belt) offer retirement visas. Henry ^Flower 19:48, 8 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent link, Henry Flower! I didn't think of the term "retirement visa". (My phrase "tourist visa that is renewable indefinitely" was intended to imply a modification of the concept of "tourist visa" to be something else. I wasn't asking about actual tourist visas.) Loraof (talk) 17:33, 9 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Some visas permit year-round residence in the U.S. The most well-known of these is the H-1B visa. See dual intent. These visa types are generally for employment, business, or family of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. You are correct in that there is no long-term U.S. "tourism visa"; long-term stay visas typically have requirements. Someone can apply for a Diversity Immigrant Visa to become a U.S. permanent resident, but they're given out by lottery. The easiest way to become a permanent resident is to marry a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or have a family member do so. --47.146.63.87 (talk) 00:50, 12 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]