There's ferment in Virginia to move us all to optical scan machines, too.
Given that we've now used the electronic machines for two general elections (and two primaries), without problems, and given our small size (fewer than fifty machines in the county and two cities combined), I'd prefer to be allowed to go to printers.
Our non-Diebold vendor, Unilect, already has the same machines operating with printers elsewhere in the country.
But if we have to change again to get the whole state onto a voter-verified system, I'm willing. We have the real possibility in 2008 of Virginia's electoral votes being cast for a Democratic president for the first time since LBJ. Given the narrow Webb win, it's insane to go into that election without full confidence in vote-counting.
By 'we' in the second paragraph above, I'm referring to my county, which uses a touch-screen machine, the Unilect Patriot.
Six different voting machines are in use in Virginia now; about a third of the state's votes are cast on optical scan machines.
Info on the voter verified bill now being considered in Virginia appeared at Raising Kaine, but I can't seem to locate it now.
I found this -- Virginia Voting Reform NOW!! Contact your reps for Monday's big vote (Friday, Jan 19) -- making it seem as if there was a major vote yesterday. The go-to outfit in Virginia appears to be Virginia Verified Voting, aka VaVV.org. UPDATE: Monday's vote was (scheduled to be) a VA Senate subcommittee vote, there are others scheduled this week. See VaVV, "Crucial Hearings and Votes This Week" for a list of people to contact about VA SB840. VaVV is decidedly pro optical-scan, though.
I see what you're saying about the simpler transition. But there's opportunity for grief (paper jams, missing supplies) with the touchscreen+printers that there doesn't seem to be with optical scan systems. In principle, both are voter-verified, paper trail systems, which is the main thing. (Although in Maryland we have to also consider the greater good of complete, annihilatory victory over State Board of Elections Director Linda Lamone. 
)
It's so funny. I read the quotes in your post (great post, by the way) and politicians are throwing around terms like "paper trail" and the horrible "receipt." If I had one wish, it would be for world peace, but right after that I would wish that people in charge would take a few hours to learn about this issue - we want a voter-verified paper ballot. Not a paper trail, which is how the vendors describe the paper tapes that run in the back of some machines and are only of use to tell us again what the machine told us the first time around. Never, ever "receipt" which suggests that the voter will leave the polling place with a proof-of-vote, which is directly related to vote selling and is illegal.
"Voter-verified paper ballot with proper audits." I'd have it tatooed on all their foreheads if I could.
I'm jealous of you MDers. PA is SO far behind this curve. And our legislature is filled with true morons on this issue. Very sad.
Tell you what: let's just go ahead and outsource PA govt. to MD! Don't worry, we won't fire any Baathists -- we've all seen that mistake before. No, we'll train your legislators and other public servants, and as they stand up, we'll stand down.
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