Okay, here’s the Smug Australian view.
First off, you don’t need machines. You get volunteers from both sides of the vote, they count and you usually have an answer that night. It works. A few missed votes only matter when it is close, and then you do a recount.
Secondly, IMSO (in my Smug opinion), you guys desperately need a National Electoral Commission.
An office, well funded and separate from political parties, whose sole job is to do elections properly.
They make sure there are enough voting stations, that there is a sensible system in place, that it is all legal and balanced and the votes get counted honestly.
States will hate losing that power, but too bad. Do the Voting bit of Democracy properly.
