The House used this janky-looking, 1970s-style machine to impeach Trump

The House used this janky-looking, 1970s-style machine to impeach Trump

When members of the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump Wednesday, they did so in retro — yet high-tech — style. Well, sort of.

In August 2018, Congress got brand new electronic voting boxes(Opens in a new tab) installed throughout its chambers. These are machines that allow our representatives to insert their special congressional voter ID cards, and then vote Yea, Nay, or Present with the touch of a button, which electronically records their votes.

Congress first installed electronic voting boxes in 1973. In the mid 1980s, the boxes got a touch of color when designers changed the buttons from all white to green, red, yellow, and blue (green is yea, red is, obviously, nay). Chic!

Various tweaks occurred throughout the years. But 2018 saw a more woke, higher-tech iteration: The button panels got braille and an LCD panel was added to display the member of congress's name when they inserted their ID cards.

Amazingly, the boxes that literally determine the law of the land still look decidedly ... retro. According to FedScoop(Opens in a new tab), the electronic innards got a totally modern revamp. But the outside, with its wood panels and very analog buttons (mmm, want to presss), still look like they belong in your once-and-always-groovy grandmother's parlor. You can see a larger picture of the latest model here(Opens in a new tab).

If the Speaker of the House permits it, members of congress don't have to vote electronically(Opens in a new tab). In that case, they can head down to the well and hand color-coded cards to a clerk who will record votes manually. That also occurs if a member has forgotten their ID card (shame!) or wants to change their electronic vote.

As with the impeachment vote Wednesday, the colored-card system is what's going on when you watch all the milling about in Congress during a vote.

Beyond Congress, the way America votes has become a more recent topic of concern in the wake of Russia's 2016 election interference. A new report from NBC(Opens in a new tab) found that China manufactures many of the parts that comprise American voting machines. It considers the supply chains secure, but, as in the case of Huawei, the intelligence community considers Chinese manufacturing of technology a national security threat.

Mashable has reached out to the House Clerk, the office that runs voting logistics, to learn more about the manufacturers of these boxes. Whoever they are, they've really got their finger on the pulse of the latest fashion and design trends: The style inspiration(Opens in a new tab) for late 2010s cool girls everywhere was the 1970s, corduroy bellbottoms down.

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