But this smart, safe, and frugal solution doesn’t seem to be the way the Commissioners want to go. In the hearings on January 10 and 12, the Commissioners indicated their strong preference for a full-face voting system that displays the entire ballot at once, as our current machines do. Since there’s only one system like that on the market, the ES&S ExpressVote XL, it appears there’s a thumb on the scale for a preferred vendor’s most expensive product. If the ExpressVote XL were the best choice for Philadelphia, this would be less troubling. But compared to other options, this all-BMD system is the worst choice. Here’s why: