They were supposed to be the wave of the future. But doubts about the use of touch-screen voting machines have left thousands of the devices on the verge of being obsolete.

There are warehouses all over the country stacked with carefully wrapped machines that will likely never be put to use because of doubts about their being able to accurately record votes or avoid the forays of would-be hackers.

A lot of the new voting machines were ordered after the "hanging chad" fiasco of the 2000 presidential election, which ended up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But for most jurisdictions, the question isn't when such machines will be used, but how to get rid of them. One manufacturer offered $1 apiece to take back its ATM-like machines. Some states have gone so far as to offer them for sale on eBay or craigslist.