Vote counting
{{Short description|Process of counting votes in an election}}
{{Redirect|Hand counting|counting with one's fingers|Finger-counting}}
{{Globalize|1=article|2=United States|date=May 2022}}
{{Voting}}
Vote counting is the process of counting votes in an election. It can be done manually or by machines. In the United States, the compilation of election returns and validation of the outcome that forms the basis of the official results is called canvassing.{{cite book|url=https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/EMG_chapt_13_august_26_2010.pdf|title= Election Management Guidelines|chapter=Chapter 13: Canvassing and Certifying an Election|publisher=U.S. Election Assistance Commission}}
Counts are simplest in elections where just one choice is on the ballot, and these are often counted manually. In elections where many choices are on the same ballot, counts are often done by computers to give quick results. Tallies done at distant locations must be carried or transmitted accurately to the central election office.
Manual counts are usually accurate within one percent. Computers are at least that accurate, except when they have undiscovered bugs, broken sensors scanning the ballots, paper misfeeds, or hacks. Officials keep election computers off the internet to minimize hacking, but the manufacturers are on the internet. They and their annual updates are still subject to hacking, like any computers. Further voting machines are in public locations on election day, and often the night before, so they are vulnerable.
Paper ballots and computer files of results are stored until they are tallied, so they need secure storage, which is hard. The election computers themselves are stored for years, and briefly tested before each election.
Despite the challenges to the U.S. voting process integrity in recent years, including multiple claims by Republican Party members of error or voter fraud in 2020 and 2021, a robust examination of the voting process in multiple U.S. states, including Arizona{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/09/26/arizona-election-integrity-unit/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |title=As more states create election integrity units, Arizona is a cautionary tale |first1=Beth |last1=Reinhard |first2=Yvonne |last2=Wingett Sanchez |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 26, 2022}} (where claims were most strenuous), found no basis in truth for those claims. The absence of error and fraud is partially attributable to the inherent checks and balances in the voting process itself, which are, as with democracy, built into the system to reduce their likelihood.
==Manual counting==
File:Couting ballots, Ouagadougou, 2015.jpg
Manual counting, also known as hand-counting, requires a physical ballot that represents voter intent. The physical ballots are taken out of ballot boxes and/or envelopes, read and interpreted; then results are tallied.[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/primaries/sr_technology_history.html History of Voting Technology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101095421/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/primaries/sr_technology_history.html |date=2013-11-01 }} from PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Manual counting may be used for election audits and recounts in areas where automated counting systems are used.
=Manual methods=
One method of manual counting is to sort ballots in piles by candidate, and count the number of ballots in each pile. If there is more than one contest on the same sheet of paper, the sorting and counting are repeated for each contest.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sos.state.mn.us/media/2701/post-election-review-guide.pdf |title=2018 Post-Election Review Guide |date=2018-07-19 |website=Minnesota Secretary of State }} This method has been used in Burkina Faso, Russia, Sweden, United States (Minnesota), and Zimbabwe.
A variant is to read aloud the choice on each ballot while putting it into its pile, so observers can tally initially, and check by counting the piles. This method has been used in Ghana, Indonesia, and Mozambique.{{Cite web |url=http://aceproject.org/main/english/vc/vcy.htm |title=Country Examples Index — |website=ACE-Electoral Knowledge Network |access-date=2020-02-14}} These first two methods do not preserve the original order of the ballots, which can interfere with matching them to tallies or digital images taken earlier.
Another approach is for one official to read all the votes on a ballot aloud, to one or more other staff, who tally the counts for each candidate. The reader and talliers read and tally all contests, before going on to the next ballot.{{Cite web |url=https://www.elections.maryland.gov/press_room/documents/Post%20Election%20Tabulation%20Audit%20Pilot%20Program%20Report.pdf |title=Post-Election Tabulation Audit Pilot Program Report |date=October 2016 |website=Maryland State Board of Elections |access-date=2020-02-14}} A variant is to project the ballots where multiple people can see them to tally.
Another approach is for three or more people to look at and tally ballots independently; if a majority (Arizona{{Cite news |last=Fifield |first=Jen and Andrew Oxford |date=2021-04-24 |title=Arizona election audit: Here's what you're seeing on the video feeds as counting continues Saturday |language=en-US |work=Arizona Republic |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/24/arizona-senate-election-audit-video-streaming-what-youre-seeing/7367424002/ |access-date=2021-04-29}}) or all (Germanyhttps://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/elections-in-germany-checking-and-counting-ballot-papers) agree on their tallies after a certain number of ballots, that result is accepted; otherwise they re-tally.
A variant of all approaches is to scan all the ballots and release a file of the images, so anyone can count them. Parties and citizens can count these images by hand or by software. The file gives them evidence to resolve discrepancies.{{Cite web |url=https://www.auditelectionsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ballot-Image-Audit-Guide-for-Candidates-and-Campaigns-v1.1-part-1.pdf|title=Ballot Image Audit Guide for Candidates and Campaigns |date=2018-11-26 |website=AuditElectionsUSA.org/download-guide |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-15}}
The fact that different parties and citizens count with independent systems protects against errors from bugs and hacks. A checksum for the file identifies true copies.{{Cite web |url=https://dickatlee.com/issues/elections/evote/pdfs/EAC_Grant_TEVS_Docs_1.pdf |title=The Humboldt County Election Transparency Project and TEVS |last=Trachtenberg |first=Mitch |date=2013-06-29 |access-date=2020-02-15}}
Election machines which scan ballots typically create such image files automatically,{{Cite web |url=https://www.auditelectionsusa.org/use-newer-machines-with-numerically-pegged-ballot-imaging-to-help-verify-elections/states-precincts-use-ballot-images-physical-ballots/ |title=States/Counties that Use Ballot Images from Paper Ballots |website=AUDIT USA |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-15}}
though those images can be hacked or be subject to bugs if the election machine is hacked or has bugs. Independent scanners can also create image files. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballot-foia.png Copies of ballots] are known to be available for release in many parts of the United States.{{Cite web |title=I. Election Records Archives |url=https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-sections/i-election-records/ |access-date=2021-04-29 |website=The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Reporters Committee Election Legal Guide, Updated 2020 |url=https://www.rcfp.org/resources/election-legal-guide/ |access-date=2021-04-29 |website=The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2013-02-17 |title=National Association of Secretaries of State Survey |url=http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=95 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217200102/http://www.nass.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=95 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-17 |access-date=2021-04-29 }}
The press obtained copies of many ballots in the 2000 Presidential election in Florida to recount after the Supreme Court halted official recounts.{{Cite web |url=http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/fl/votomatic.asp |title=NORC Florida Ballots Project |date=2001-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011214034837/http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/fl/votomatic.asp |access-date=2020-02-15|archive-date=2001-12-14 }} Different methods resulted in different winners.
=When manual counts happen=
The tallying may be done at night at the end of the last day of voting, as in Britain,{{Cite news |url=http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-britain-counts-its-votes-41265 |title=Explainer: how Britain counts its votes |last=Game |first=Chris |date=May 7, 2015 |work=The Conversation |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en}} {{Cite news |url=http://theconversation.com/how-votes-are-counted-on-election-night-78863 |title=How votes are counted on election night |last=Keaveney |first=Paula |date=June 8, 2017 |work=The Conversation |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en}} Canada,{{Cite web |url=https://lop.parl.ca/About/Parliament/Education/ourcountryourparliament/html_booklet/elections-e.html |title=Elections, Our Country, Our Parliament |website=lop.parl.ca |access-date=August 16, 2019}} France,{{Cite news |url=https://www.vie-publique.fr/decouverte-institutions/citoyen/participation/voter/bureau-vote/qu-est-ce-qu-depouillement.html |title=Qu'est-ce qu'un dépouillement ? - Comment se déroule une journée dans un bureau de vote ? Découverte des institutions - Repères - vie-publique.fr |date=January 14, 2018 |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=fr}} Germany,{{Cite web |url=https://wahlhelfer.muelheim-ruhr.de/m%C3%BClheim/wahllexikon/stimmenausz%C3%A4hlung/372 |title=Stimmenauszählung |date=2019 |website=Mülheim an der Ruhr |access-date=August 17, 2019|language=de}} and Spain,{{Cite news |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/elecciones-generales/2019-04-28/escrutinio-recuento-votos-urnas-papeletas-28a_1950082/ |title=¿Qué es el escrutinio y cómo se cuentan los votos en las elecciones generales 2019? |date=April 28, 2019 |work=El Confidencial |access-date=August 17, 2019 |language=es }} and Section 14 of the law:{{Cite web |url=http://www.juntaelectoralcentral.es/cs/jec/normativa/estatal?idLeyJunta=1&template=Loreg/JEC_Contenido |title=Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de Junio, del régimen electoral general. SECCIÓN 14.ª ESCRUTINIO EN LAS MESAS ELECTORALES |website=www.juntaelectoralcentral.es |access-date=August 17, 2019}} or the next day, or 1–2 weeks later in the US, after provisional ballots have been adjudicated."Starting to audit only when all the audit units have already been counted is the most straightforward method." {{Cite web |url=https://electionaudits.org/files/Audit%20Principles%20and%20Best%20Practices%202018.pdf |title=Principles and Best Practices for Post-Election Tabulation Audits |date=2018 |website=ElectionAudits.org |access-date=August 12, 2019}}
If counting is not done immediately, or if courts accept challenges which can require re-examination of ballots, the ballots need to be securely stored, which is problematic.
Australia federal elections count ballots at least twice, at the polling place and, starting Monday night after election day, at counting centres.{{Cite web |last=Australian Electoral Commission |title=House of Representatives count |url=https://aec.gov.au/Voting/counting/hor.htm |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=Australian Electoral Commission |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |last=Australian Electoral Commission |title=The Senate counting process |url=https://aec.gov.au/Voting/counting/senate.htm |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=Australian Electoral Commission |language=en-AU}}
=Errors in manual counts=
Hand counting has been found to be slower and more prone to error than other counting methods.{{Cite AV media |url=https://apnews.com/video/donald-trump-georgia-district-of-columbia-national-cb651acf448449f687e12d25c0239994 |title=Explaining Election Day: How hand counting votes carries risks |language=en |access-date=2024-10-10 |via=apnews.com}}
Repeated tests have found that the tedious and repetitive nature of hand counting leads to a loss of focus and accuracy over time. A 2023 test in Mohave County, Arizona used 850 ballots, averaging 36 contests each, that had been machine-counted many times. The hand count used seven experienced poll workers: one reader with two watchers, and two talliers with two watchers.
The results included 46 errors not noticed by the counting team, including:
- Caller called the wrong candidate, and both watchers failed to notice the incorrect call
- Tally markers tried to work out inconsistencies while tallying
- Tally markers marked a vote for an incorrect candidate and the watchers failed to notice the error
- Caller calling too fast resulted in double marking a candidate or missed marking a candidate
- Caller missed calling a vote for a candidate and both watchers failed to notice the omission
- Watchers not watching the process due to boredom or fatigue
- Illegible tally marking caused incorrect tally totaling
- Enunciation of names caused incorrect candidate tally
- Using incorrect precinct tally sheets to tally ballots resulted in incorrect precinct level results.
Similar tallying errors were reported in Indiana and Texas election hand counts. Errors were 3% to 27% for various candidates in a 2016 Indiana race, because the tally sheet labels misled officials into over-counting groups of five tally marks, and officials sometimes omitted absentee ballots or double-counted ballots.{{Cite news |last=BEILMAN |first=ELIZABETH |url=https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/jeffersonville-city-council-at-large-recount-tally-sheets-show-vote/article_75f432ce-cf7e-11e5-8c1a-5365ef7d3540.html |title=Jeffersonville City Council At-large recount tally sheets show vote differences|work=News and Tribune (Jeffersonville, IN)|access-date=2020-02-14 |language=en}}
12 of 13 precincts in the 2024 Republican primary in Gillespie County, TX, were added or written down wrong after a hand count, including two precincts with seven contests wrong and one with six contests wrong.{{Cite news |last=Contreras |first=Natalia |date=2024-03-18 |title=Texas county's GOP officials declared hand count a success, but kept finding errors |url=https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2024/03/18/gillespie-county-texas-republican-primary-hand-count-election-errors-discrepancies/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=Votebeat |language=en}}
While the Texas errors were caught and corrected before results were finalized, the Indiana errors were not.
Average errors in hand-counted candidate tallies in New Hampshire towns were 2.5% in 2002, including one town with errors up to 20%. Omitting that town cut the average error to 0.87%. Only the net result for each candidate in each town could be measured, by assuming the careful manual recount was fully accurate. Total error can be higher if there were countervailing errors hidden in the net result, but net error in the overall electorate is what determines winners.{{Cite web |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/96548/vtp_wp11.pdf |title=Using Recounts to Measure the Accuracy of Vote Tabulations: Evidence from New Hampshire Elections 1946-2002. |last=Ansolabehere |first=Stephen |author2=Andrew Reeves |date=January 2004 |website=CALTECH/MIT Voting Technology Project |access-date=2020-02-14}} Connecticut towns in 2007 to 2013 had similar errors up to 2%.
In candidate tallies for precincts in Wisconsin recounted by hand in 2011 and 2016, the average net discrepancy was 0.28% in 2011 and 0.18% in 2016.{{Cite journal |last1=Ansolabehere |first1=Stephen |last2=Burden |first2=Barry C. |last3=Mayer |first3=Kenneth R. |last4=Stewart |first4=Charles |date=2018-03-20 |title=Learning from Recounts |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=100–116 |doi=10.1089/elj.2017.0440 |issn=1533-1296|doi-access=free }}
India hand tallies paper records from a 1.5% sample of election machines before releasing results. For each voter, the machine prints the selected candidate on a slip of paper, displays it to the voter, then drops the slip into a box. In the April–May 2019 elections for the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, the Election Commission hand-tallied the slips of paper from 20,675 voting machines (out of 1,350,000 machines) and found discrepancies for 8 machines, usually of four votes or less. Most machines tally over 16 candidates,{{Cite news |date=2019-03-09 |title=What are EVMs, VVPAT and how safe they are |language=en |work=Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/what-are-evms-vvpat-and-how-safe-they-are/articleshow/66969640.cms |access-date=2021-11-08}} and they did not report how many of these candidate tallies were discrepant. They formed investigation teams to report within ten days, were still investigating in November 2019, with no report as of June 2021.{{Cite news |last=Nath |first=Damini |date=2019-07-25 |title=ECI sets up teams to probe VVPAT mismatch in Lok Sabha election |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ec-sets-up-teams-to-probe-vvpat-mismatch-in-lok-sabha-election/article28713704.ece |access-date=2021-11-08 |issn=0971-751X}} Hand tallies before and after 2019 had a perfect match with machine counts.
An experiment with multiple types of ballots counted by multiple teams found average errors of 0.5% in candidate tallies when one person, watched by another, read to two people tallying independently. Almost all these errors were overcounts. The same ballots had errors of 2.1% in candidate tallies from sort and stack. These errors were equally divided between undercounts and overcounts of the candidates. Optical scan ballots, which were tallied by both methods, averaged 1.87% errors, equally divided between undercounts and overcounts. Since it was an experiment, the true numbers were known. Participants thought that having the candidate names printed in larger type and bolder than the office and party would make hand tallies faster and more accurate.
Intentional errors hand tallying election results are fraud. Close review by observers, if allowed, may detect fraud, and the observers may or may not be believed.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/securing-the-ballot-review-into-electoral-fraud |title=Securing the ballot: review into electoral fraud |last=Pickles |first=Eric |date=2016-12-27 |website=Cabinet Office, UK |language=en |access-date=2020-02-14}}
If only one person sees each ballot and reads off its choice, there is no check on that person's mistakes. In the US only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia give anyone but officials a legal right to see ballot marks during hand counting.
If fraud is detected and proven, penalties may be light or delayed. US prosecution policy since the 1980s has been to let fraudulent winners take office and keep office, usually for years, until convicted,{{Cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal/file/1029066/download |title=Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Eighth Edition |date=December 2017 |website=US Department of Justice |access-date=2020-02-14}}
and to impose sentencing level 8–14,{{Cite web |url=https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2018-guidelines-manual/2018-chapter-2-c |title=2018 Chapter 2 PART C - OFFENSES INVOLVING PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN LAWS |date=2018-06-27 |website=United States Sentencing Commission |language=en |access-date=2020-02-14}} which earns less than two years of prison.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2011/manual-pdf/Sentencing_Table.pdf |title=Sentencing Table |date=2011-10-26 |website=US Sentencing Commission |access-date=2020-02-14}}
In 1934, the United States had been hand-counting ballots for over 150 years, and problems were described in a report by Joseph P. Harris, who 20 years later invented a punched card voting machine,{{Cite web |date=1983 |editor-last=Harris |editor-first=Joseph P. |editor2-last=Nathan |editor2-first=Harriet |title=Joseph P. Harris: Professor and Practitioner: Government, Election Reform, and the Votomatic |url=https://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/217520?v=pdf |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=UC Berkeley |publisher=Regional Oral History Office}}
{{blockquote|"Recounts in Chicago and Philadelphia have indicated such wide variations that apparently the precinct officers did not take the trouble to count the ballots at all... While many election boards pride themselves upon their ability to conduct the count rapidly and accurately, as a general rule the count is conducted poorly and slowly... precinct officers conduct the count with practically no supervision whatever... It is impossible to fix the responsibility for errors or frauds... Not infrequently there is a mixup with the ballots and some uncertainty as to which have been counted and which have not... The central count was used some years ago in San Francisco... experience indicated that there is considerable confusion at the central counting place... and that the results are not more accurate than those obtained from the count by the precinct officer."{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Joseph P. |date=1934 |title=Election Administration in the United States, chapter VI, pages 236-246 |url=https://www.nist.gov/itl/election-administration-united-states-1934-joseph-p-harris-phd |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=NIST, originally published by Brookings |language=en}}}}
Data in the table are comparable, because average error in candidate tallies as percent of candidate tallies, weighted by number of votes for each candidate (in NH) is mathematically the same as the sum of absolute values of errors in each candidate's tally, as percent of all ballots (in other studies).
=Time needed and cost of manual counts=
Cost depends on pay levels and staff time needed, recognizing that staff generally work in teams of two to four (one to read, one to watch, and one or two to record votes). Teams of four, with two to read and two to record are more secure and would increase costs. Three to record might more quickly resolve discrepancies, if 2 of the 3 agree.
Typical times in the table below range from a tenth to a quarter of a minute per vote tallied, so 24-60 ballots per hour per team, if there are 10 votes per ballot.
One experiment with identical ballots of various types and multiple teams found that sorting ballots into stacks took longer and had more errors than two people reading to two talliers.
Mechanical counting
Mechanical voting machines have voters selecting switches (levers),{{Cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Eliza |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/10/rip-lever-voting-machines |title=RIP, Lever Voting Machines |date=2012-11-10 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=2020-02-16 |language=en}}
pushing plastic chips through holes, or pushing mechanical buttons which increment a mechanical counter (sometimes called the odometer) for the appropriate candidate.
There is no record of individual votes to check.
=Errors in mechanical counting=
Tampering with the gears or initial settings can change counts, or gears can stick when a small object is caught in them, so they fail to count some votes.{{Cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/56789-weird-history-of-voting-machines.html |title=Why Not Paper Ballots? America's Weird History of Voting Machines |last=Emspak |first=Jesse |date=2016-11-08 |website=livescience.com |language=en |access-date=2020-02-16}} When not maintained well the counters can stick and stop counting additional votes; staff may or may not choose to fix the problem.{{Cite web |last1=McKim |first1=Karen |date=2014-05-15 |title=It happens all the time: Interview with the consultant who discovered the Medford miscount |url=https://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/_it_happens_all_the_time |access-date=2020-06-26 |website=Wisconsin Grassroots Network}}
Also, election staff can read the final results wrong off the back of the machine.
Electronic counting
{{main|Electronic voting|Electronic voting machine}}
Electronic machines for elections are being procured around the world, often with donor money. In places with honest independent election commissions, machines can add efficiency, though not usually transparency. Where the election commission is weaker, expensive machines can be fetishized, waste money on kickbacks and divert attention, time and resources from harmful practices, as well as reducing transparency.{{Cite journal |last1=Cheeseman |first1=Nic |last2=Lynch |first2=Gabrielle |last3=Willis |first3=Justin |date=2018-11-17 |title=Digital dilemmas: the unintended consequences of election technology |journal=Democratization |volume=25 |issue=8 |pages=1397–1418 |language=en |doi=10.1080/13510347.2018.1470165|s2cid=150032446 |doi-access=free }}
An Estonian study compared the staff, computer, and other costs of different ways of voting to the numbers of voters, and found highest costs per vote were in lightly used, heavily staffed early in-person voting. Lowest costs per vote were in internet voting and in-person voting on election day at local polling places, because of the large numbers of voters served by modest staffs. For internet voting they do not break down the costs. They show steps to decrypt internet votes and imply but do not say they are hand-counted.{{Cite journal |last1=Krimmer |first1=Robert |last2=Duenas-Cid |first2=David |last3=Krivonosova |first3=Iuliia |date=2021-01-02 |title=New methodology for calculating cost-efficiency of different ways of voting: is internet voting cheaper? |journal=Public Money & Management |volume=41 |pages=17–26 |language=en |doi=10.1080/09540962.2020.1732027|s2cid=212822266 |doi-access=free }}
=Optical scan counting=
{{main|Optical scan voting system}}
{{further|Voting machine#Optical scan (marksense)|Electronic voting#Paper-based electronic voting system|Electronic voting in the United States#Optical scan counting}}
File:2018 Ballots being counted in Santa Clara County.webm
File:2010 Iowa Republican Primary ballot.jpg
File:Black line on scanned ballot.png
In an optical scan voting system, or marksense, each voter's choices are marked on one or more pieces of paper, which then go through a scanner. The scanner creates an electronic image of each ballot, interprets it, creates a tally for each candidate, and usually stores the image for later review.
The voter may mark the paper directly, usually in a specific location for each candidate, either by filling in an oval or by using a patterned stamp that can be easily detected by OCR software.
Or the voter may pick one pre-marked ballot among many, each with its own barcode or QR code corresponding to a candidate.
Or the voter may select choices on an electronic screen, which then prints the chosen names, usually with a bar code or QR code summarizing all choices, on a sheet of paper to put in the scanner.{{Cite web |url=https://www.verifiedvoting.org/ballot-marking-devices/ |title=Ballot Marking Devices |website=Verified Voting |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-28 |archive-date=2020-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805185249/https://www.verifiedvoting.org/ballot-marking-devices/ |url-status=dead }} This screen and printer is called an electronic ballot marker (EBM) or ballot marking device (BMD), and voters with disabilities can communicate with it by headphones, large buttons, sip and puff, or paddles, if they cannot interact with the screen or paper directly. Typically the ballot marking device does not store or tally votes. The paper it prints is the official ballot, put into a scanning system which counts the barcodes, or the printed names can be hand-counted, as a check on the machines.{{Cite news |last=Cohn |first=Jennifer |url=https://medium.com/@jennycohn1/what-is-the-latest-threat-to-democracy-ballot-marking-devices-a-k-a-electronic-pencils-16bb44917edd |title=What is the latest threat to democracy? |date=2018-05-05|work=Medium |access-date=2020-02-28 |language=en}} Most voters do not look at the paper to ensure it reflects their choices, and when there is a mistake, an experiment found that 81% of registered voters do not report errors to poll workers.{{Cite web |url=https://jhalderm.com/pub/papers/bmd-verifiability-sp20.pdf |title=Can Voters Detect Malicious Manipulation of Ballot Marking Devices? |last=Bernhard |first=Matthew |author2=Allison McDonald |author3=Henry Meng |author4=Jensen Hwa |author5=Nakul Bajaj |author6=Kevin Chang |author7=J. Alex Halderman |date=2019-12-28 |website=Halderman |access-date=2020-02-28}}
Two companies, Hart and Clear Ballot, have scanners which count the printed names, which voters had a chance to check, rather than bar codes and QR codes, which voters are unable to check.{{Cite web |url=https://trustthevote.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/29Mar19-OSETBriefing_GeorgiaTechAcquisitionAnalysisFinal.pdf |title=Georgia State Election Technology Acquisition, Assessing Recent Legislation in Light of Planned Procurement |last=Perez |first=Edward |author2=Joy London |author3=Gregory Miller |date=March 2019 |website=OSET Institute |access-date=2020-03-05}}
==Timing of optical scans==
The machines are faster than hand-counting, so are typically used the night after the election, to give quick results. The paper ballots and electronic memories still need to be stored, to check that the images are correct, and to be available for court challenges.
==Errors in optical scans==
{{main|Electronic voting in the United States#Errors in optical scans}}
Scanners have a row of photo-sensors which the paper passes by, and they record light and dark pixels from the ballot. A black streak results when a scratch or paper dust causes a sensor to record black continuously.{{Cite web |url=https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/event_document/files/day1-2017-02-13-09_15-03-natasha-Post-Election-Audits-final.pdf |title=2016 Post-Election Audits in Maryland |last=Walker |first=Natasha |date=2017-02-13 |website=Elections Advisory Commission |access-date=2020-02-27}}
{{Cite web |url=https://webcms.pima.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6/File/Government/Elections%20Department/Election%20Integrity%20Commission/2016/2016%20Agenda%20Item%20Materials/Email_Ballot%20Images_White_Ryan.pdf |title=Transcript of Email on Ballot Images |last=Ryan, Tom and Benny White |date=November 30, 2016 |website=Pima County, AZ |access-date=February 15, 2020}} A white streak can result when a sensor fails.{{Cite web |url=http://www.votersunite.org/info/yakimaproblemreport.asp |title=Hart InterCivic Optical-Scan Has A Weak Spot |last=Gideon |first=John |date=July 5, 2005 |website=www.votersunite.org |access-date=February 15, 2020}} In the right place, such lines can indicate a vote for every candidate or no votes for anyone. Some offices blow compressed air over the scanners after every 200 ballots to remove dust.{{Cite web |last1=McKim |first1=Karen |date=2015-02-17 |title=Unregistered Dust Bunnies May be Voting in Wisconsin Elections: Stoughton Miscount Update |url=https://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/dust_bunnies_may_be_voting |access-date=2020-06-26 |website=Wisconsin Grassroots Network}}
Fold lines in the wrong places can also count as votes.{{Cite web |last=Appel |first=Andrew |date=2021-06-07 |title=New Hampshire Election Audit, part 2 |url=https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2021/06/07/new-hampshire-election-audit-part-2/ |access-date=2021-06-07 |website=Princeton University}}
Software can miscount; if it miscounts drastically enough, people notice and check. Staff rarely can say who caused an error, so they do not know whether it was accidental or a hack. Errors from 2002 to 2008 were listed and analyzed by the Brennan Center in 2010.{{Cite web |last=Norden |first=Lawrence |date=September 16, 2010 |title=Voting system failures: a database solution |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/Report_Voting_Machine_Failures_Database-Solution.pdf |access-date=July 7, 2020 |website=Brennan Center, NYU}} There have been numerous examples before and since.
- In a 2020 election in Baltimore, Maryland, the private company which printed ballots shifted the location of some candidates on some ballots up one line, so the scanner looked in the wrong places on the paper and reported the wrong numbers. It was caught because a popular incumbent got implausibly few votes.{{Cite news |first=Emily |last=Opilo |author2=Talia Richman |author3=Phil Davis |date=June 3, 2020 |title=Concern from candidates, officials as error creates delay in release of returns; Dixon leads in Baltimore mayoral count |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/elections/bs-md-pol-ballot-error-baltimore-district-1-20200603-n26t43fkmjadplqeqybloj4dki-story.html |access-date=July 30, 2020}}
- In a 2018 New York City election when the air was humid, ballots jammed in the scanner, or multiple ballots went through a scanner at once, hiding all but one.{{Cite news |last=MacDougall |first=Ian |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/new-york-city-polling-places-midterms-2018-humidity |title=What Went Wrong at New York City Polling Places? It Was Something in the Air. Literally. |date=November 7, 2018|work=ProPublica |access-date=February 18, 2020 |language=en}}
- In a 2000 Bernalillo County (Albuquerque area), New Mexico, election, a programming error meant that straight-party votes on paper ballots were not counted for the individual candidates. The number of ballots was thus much larger than the number of votes in each contest. The software was fixed, and the ballots were re-scanned to get correct counts.{{Cite news |last=Gruley |first=Bryan |author2=Chip Cummins |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB976838091124686673 |title=Election Day Became a Nightmare, As Usual, for Bernalillo County |date=2000-12-16 |work=Wall Street Journal |access-date=2020-03-11 |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Deborah |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/elex/apvotes10-31-04.htm |title=ABQjournal: Contentious 2000 Election Closest in N.M. History |date=2004-10-31 |work=Albuquerque Journal |access-date=2020-03-11 |archive-date=2020-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411015052/https://www.abqjournal.com/elex/apvotes10-31-04.htm |url-status=dead }}
- In the 2000 Florida presidential race the most common optical scanning error was to treat as an overvote a ballot where the voter marked a candidate and wrote in the same candidate.
Researchers find security flaws in all election computers, which let voters, staff members or outsiders disrupt or change results, often without detection.{{Cite web |url=https://media.defcon.org/DEF%20CON%2027/votingvillage-report-defcon27.pdf |title=DEF CON 27 Voting Machine Hacking Village |last=Blaze |first=Matt |author2=Harri Hursti |author3=Margaret Macalpine |author4=Mary Hanley |author5=Jeff Moss |author6=Rachel Wehr |author7=Kendal L Spencer |author8=Christopher Ferris |date=2019-09-26 |website=Defcon |access-date=2020-03-11 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Security reviews and audits are discussed in Electronic voting in the United States#Security reviews.
When a ballot marking device prints a bar code or QR code along with candidate names, the candidates are represented in the bar code or QR code as numbers, and the scanner counts those codes, not the names. If a bug or hack makes the numbering system in the ballot marking device not aligned with the numbering system in the scanner, votes will be tallied for the wrong candidates. This numbering mismatch has appeared with direct recording electronic machines (below).{{Cite report |url=http://www.lwvsc.org/files/buell-lwvscreport2018scelection.pdf |title=Analysis of the Election Data from the 6 November 2018 General Election in South Carolina |last=Buell |first=Duncan |date=December 23, 2018 |work=League of Women Voters of South Carolina |access-date=February 5, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224163525/http://lwvsc.org/files/buell-lwvscreport2018scelection.pdf |url-status=dead }}
Some US states check a small number of places by hand-counting or use of machines independent of the original election machines.
==Recreated ballots==
ballots created by election staff when originals cannot be counted for some reason. They usually apply to optical scan elections, not hand-counting. Reasons include tears, water damage and folds which prevent feeding through scanners. Reasons also include voters selecting candidates by circling them or other marks, when machines are only programmed to tally specific marks in front of the candidate's name.{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Steve |date=2006-11-07 |title=Oddly marked ovals bane of poll workers' day |language=en |work=Rapid City Journal |url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/top-stories/oddly-marked-ovals-bane-of-poll-workers-day/article_99cdf7c2-e489-581f-9cde-c804a5679419.html |access-date=2020-05-17}}
As many as 8% of ballots in an election may be recreated.
Recreating ballots is sometimes called reconstructing ballots, ballot replication, ballot remaking or ballot transcription.{{Cite web |last=Shafer |first=Michelle |date=2020-07-20 |title=Ballot Duplication: What it is, what it is not, and why we are talking about it |url=https://ovi.csg.org/ballot-duplication-what-it-is-what-it-is-not-and-why-we-are-talking-about-it-in-2020/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Council of State Governments |language=en-US}}
The term "duplicate ballot" sometimes refers to these recreated ballots,{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Eric |date=2008-12-17 |title=Recount's next big issue: duplicate ballots |language=en-US |work=MinnPost |url=https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2008/12/recounts-next-big-issue-duplicate-ballots/ |access-date=2020-05-17}} and sometimes to extra ballots erroneously given to or received from a voter.{{Cite news |last=Tomasic |first=Megan |date=2020-05-14 |title=Some Allegheny County voters received duplicate mail-in ballots due to system glitch |work=Tribune Review |url=https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/some-allegheny-county-voters-received-duplicate-mail-in-ballots-due-to-system-glitch/ |access-date=2020-05-17}}
Recreating can be done manually, or by scanners with manual review.{{Cite web |last=Shafer |first=Michelle |date=2020-08-31 |title=Ballot Duplication Technology: What is it and how does it work? |url=https://ovi.csg.org/ballot-duplication-technology-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Council of State Governments |language=en-US}}
Because of its potential for fraud, recreation of ballots is usually done by teams of two people working togetherDuplicate ballot procedures in Ventura County, CA https://recorder.countyofventura.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/BALLOT-DUPLICATION-PROCESS-FACTS-2-Final-1.pdf
or closely observed by bipartisan teams.
The security of a team process can be undermined by having one person read to the other, so only one looks at the original votes and one looks at the recreated votes, or by having the team members appointed by a single official.Duplicate ballot procedures in Michigan https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/XII_Precinct_Canvass_-_Closing_the_Polls_266013_7.pdf
When auditing an election, audits need to be done with the original ballots, not the recreated ones.
==Cost of scanning systems==
List prices of optical scanners in the US in 2002–2019, ranged from $5,000 to $111,000 per machine, depending primarily on speed. List prices add up to $1 to $4 initial cost per registered voter. Discounts vary, based on negotiations for each buyer, not on number of machines purchased. Annual fees often cost 5% or more per year, and sometimes over 10%. Fees for training and managing the equipment during elections are additional. Some jurisdictions lease the machines so their budgets can stay relatively constant from year to year. Researchers say that the steady flow of income from past sales, combined with barriers to entry, reduces the incentive for vendors to improve voting technology.{{Cite web |last=Caulfield |first=Matthew |author2=Andrew Coopersmith |author3=Arnav Jagasia |author4=Olivia Podos |date=2021-03-30 |title=Price of Voting |url=https://verifiedvoting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Price-of-Voting-FINAL2.pdf |website=Verified Voting}}
If most voters mark their own paper ballots and one marking device is available at each polling place for voters with disabilities, Georgia's total cost of machines and maintenance for 10 years, starting 2020, has been estimated at $12 per voter ($84 million total). Pre-printed ballots for voters to mark would cost $4 to $20 per voter ($113 million to $224 million total machines, maintenance and printing). The low estimate includes $0.40 to print each ballot, and more than enough ballots for historic turnout levels. the high estimate includes $0.55 to print each ballot, and enough ballots for every registered voter, including three ballots (of different parties) for each registered voter in primary elections with historically low turnout.{{Cite web |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5766827-OSET.html |title=Georgia State Election Technology Acquisition, A Reality Check |last=Perez |first=Edward |author2=Gregory Miller |date=March 2019 |website=OSET Institute |language=en |access-date=2020-03-06}}{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Stephen |url=https://www.gpbnews.org/post/here-s-what-vendors-say-it-would-cost-replace-georgia-s-voting-system |title=Here's What Vendors Say It Would Cost To Replace Georgia's Voting System|work=Georgia Public Broadcasting |access-date=2020-02-28 |language=en}} The estimate is $29 per voter ($203 million total) if all voters use ballot marking devices, including $0.10 per ballot for paper.
The capital cost of machines in 2019 in Pennsylvania is $11 per voter if most voters mark their own paper ballots and a marking device is available at each polling place for voters with disabilities, compared to $23 per voter if all voters use ballot marking devices.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cyber.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/voting-system-selection-one-pager%20%282%29.pdf |title=Pennsylvania Counties' New Voting Systems Selections: An Analysis |last=Deluzio |first=Christopher |author2=Kevin Skoglund |date=2020-02-28 |website=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=2020-02-28 |archive-date=2020-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626032838/https://www.cyber.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/voting-system-selection-one-pager%20(2).pdf |url-status=dead }} This cost does not include printing ballots.
New York has an undated comparison of capital costs and a system where all voters use ballot marking devices costing over twice as much as a system where most do not. The authors say extra machine maintenance would exacerbate that difference, and printing cost would be comparable in both approaches.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nyvv.org/paperballotCostsMain.shtml |title=NYVV - Paper Ballots Costs |website=www.nyvv.org |access-date=2020-02-28 |archive-date=2020-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228224035/https://www.nyvv.org/paperballotCostsMain.shtml |url-status=dead }} Their assumption of equal printing costs differs from the Georgia estimates of $0.40 or $0.50 to print a ballot in advance, and $0.10 to print it in a ballot marking device.
=Direct-recording electronic counting=
{{main|DRE voting machine}}
{{further|Voting machine#Direct-recording electronic (DRE)|Electronic voting#Direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting system|Electronic voting in the United States#Direct-recording electronic counting}}
File:Paper roll with votes from numerous voters, on iVotronic election computer.png
A touch screen displays choices to the voter, who selects choices, and can change their mind as often as needed, before casting the vote. Staff initialize each voter once on the machine, to avoid repeat voting. Voting data and ballot images are recorded in memory components, and can be copied out at the end of the election.
The system may also provide a means for communicating with a central location for reporting results and receiving updates,[http://www.eac.gov/VVSG%20Volume_I.pdf 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208184233/http://www.eac.gov/VVSG%20Volume_I.pdf |date=2006-02-08 }} from the US Election Assistance Commission
which is an access point for hacks and bugs to arrive.
Some of these machines also print names of chosen candidates on paper for the voter to verify. These names on paper can be used for election audits and recounts if needed. The tally of the voting data is stored in a removable memory component and in bar codes on the paper tape. The paper tape is called a Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT). The VVPATs can be counted at 20–43 seconds of staff time per vote (not per ballot).{{Cite web |url=http://www.votersunite.org/info/CostEstimateforHandCounting.pdf |title=Cost Estimate for Hand Counting 2% of the Precincts in the U.S. |last=Theisen |first=Ellen |date=2005-06-14 |website=VotersUnite.org |access-date=2020-02-14}}
For machines without VVPAT, there is no record of individual votes to check.
==Errors in direct-recording electronic voting==
This approach can have software errors. It does not include scanners, so there are no scanner errors. When there is no paper record, it is hard to notice or research most errors.
- The only forensic examination which has been done of direct-recording software files was in Georgia in 2020, and found that one or more unauthorized intruders had entered the files and erased records of what it did to them. In 2014-2017 an intruder had control of the state computer in Georgia which programmed vote-counting machines for all counties. The same computer also held voter registration records. The intrusion exposed all election files in Georgia since then to compromise and malware. Public disclosure came in 2020 from a court case.{{Cite web |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.240678/gov.uscourts.gand.240678.699.10.pdf |title=SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION OF LOGAN LAMB |last=Lamb |first=Logan |date=2020-01-14 |website=CourtListener |access-date=2020-02-03}}{{Cite web |url=https://coaltionforgoodgovernance.sharefile.com/d-s0dce50c25084f0da |title=Coalition Plaintiffs' Status Report, pages 237-244 |date=2020-01-16 |website=Coalition for Good Governance |access-date=2020-02-03}}{{Cite news |url=https://apnews.com/39dad9d39a7533efe06e0774615a6d05 |title=Expert: Georgia election server showed signs of tampering |last=Bajak |first=Frank |date=2020-01-16 |work=Associated Press |access-date=2020-02-03}} Georgia did not have paper ballots to measure the amount of error in electronic tallies. The FBI studied that computer in 2017, and did not report the intrusion.{{Cite news |last=Zetter |first=Kim |url=http://politi.co/2heBRW2 |title=Will the Georgia Special Election Get Hacked?|work=Politico |access-date=2020-02-16 |language=en}}
- A 2018 study of direct-recording voting machines (iVotronic) without VVPAT in South Carolina found that every election from 2010 to 2018 had some memory cards fail. The investigator also found that lists of candidates were different in the central and precinct machines, so 420 votes which were properly cast in the precinct were erroneously added to a different contest in the central official tally, and unknown numbers were added to other contests in the central official tallies. The investigator found the same had happened in 2010. There were also votes lost by garbled transmissions, which the state election commission saw but did not report as an issue. 49 machines reported that their three internal memory counts disagreed, an average of 240 errors per machine, but the machines stayed in use, and the state evaluation did not report the issue, and there were other error codes and time stamp errors.{{Cite news |url=https://statescoop.com/south-carolina-voting-machines-miscounted-hundreds-of-ballots-report-finds/ |title=South Carolina voting machines miscounted hundreds of ballots, report finds |last=Freed |first=Benjamin |date=2019-01-07|work=Scoop News Group |access-date=2020-02-05 |language=en}}
- In a 2017 York County, Pennsylvania, election, a programming error in a county's machines without VVPAT let voters vote more than once for the same candidate. Some candidates had filed as both Democrat and Republican, so they were listed twice in races where voters could select up to three candidates, so voters could select both instances of the same name.{{Cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Brandie |last2=Boeckel |first2=Teresa |last3=Segelbaum |first3=Dylan |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2017/11/07/problem-york-county-voting-machines-could-allow-extra-votes-some-candidates/841010001/ |title='Redo' of some York County races - including judge - possible after voting problems |date=2017-11-07 |work=York Daily Record |access-date=2020-03-11 |language=en}} They recounted the DRE machines' electronic records of votes and found 2,904 pairs of double votes.{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Rick |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2017/11/20/no-change-after-election-recount/869905001/ |title=UPDATE: York Co. election judicial winners: Kathleen Prendergast, Clyde Vedder, Amber Anstine Kraft |date=2017-11-20 |work=York Daily Record |access-date=2020-03-11 |language=en}}
- In a 2011 Fairfield Township, New Jersey, election a programming error in a machine without a VVPAT gave two candidates low counts. They collected more affidavits by voters who voted for them than the computer tally gave them, so a judge ordered a new election which they won.{{Cite news |last=Thibodeau |first=Patrick |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/3126820/if-the-election-is-hacked-we-may-never-know.html |title=If the election is hacked, we may never know |date=2016-10-05|work=ComputerWorld |access-date=2020-02-18 |language=en}}
- A 2007 study for the Ohio Secretary of State reported on election software from ES&S, Premier and Hart. Besides the problems it found, it noted that all "election systems rely heavily on third party software that implement interfaces to the operating systems, local databases, and devices such as optical scanners... the construction and features of this software is unknown, and may contain undisclosed vulnerabilities such trojan horses or other malware."{{Cite report |url=https://nordicinnovationlabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/everest.pdf |title=EVEREST: Evaluation and Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards and Testing |last=McDaniel |display-authors=etal |date=2007-12-07 |issue=Ohio Secretary of State |access-date=2020-02-05}}
General issues
=Interpretation, in any counting method=
File:2018 Vote by mail envelopes being sorted in Santa Clara County.webm
Election officials or optical scanners decide if a ballot is valid before tallying it. Reasons why it might not be valid include: more choices selected than allowed; incorrect voter signature or details on ballots received by mail, if allowed; lack of poll worker signatures, if required; forged ballot (wrong paper, printing or security features); stray marks which could identify who cast the ballot (to earn payments); and blank ballots, though these may be counted separately as abstentions.
For paper ballots officials decide if the voter's intent is clear, since voters may mark lightly, or circle their choice, instead of marking as instructed. The ballot may be visible to observers to ensure agreement, by webcam or passing around a table, or the process may be private. In the US only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia give anyone but officials a legal right to see ballot marks during hand counting.{{Cite web |url=https://www.verifiedvoting.org/state-audit-laws/ |title=State Audit Laws |date=2017-02-10 |website=Verified Voting |language=en-US |access-date=2018-04-02 |archive-date=2020-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104201852/https://www.verifiedvoting.org/state-audit-laws/ |url-status=dead }}
For optical scans, the software has rules to interpret voter intent, based on the darkness of marks. Software may ignore circles around a candidate name, and paper dust or broken sensors can cause marks to appear or disappear, not where the voter intended.
Officials also check if the number of voters checked in at the polling place matches the number of ballots voted, and that the votes plus remaining unused ballots matches the number of ballots sent to the polling place. If not, they look for the extra ballots, and may report discrepancies.
=Secure storage to enable counts in future=
File:AEC-Senate-ballots-sealed-1.jpg
File:AEC-HoR-ballots-sealed-2.jpg
File:AEC-HoR-ballots-sealed-3.jpg
If ballots or other paper or electronic records of an election may be needed for counting or court review after a period of time, they need to be stored securely.
Election storage often uses tamper-evident seals,{{Cite web |url=https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/6/260.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170327214637/https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/6/260.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 27, 2017 |title=Chapter 3. PHYSICAL SECURITY |website=US Election Assistance Commission |access-date=April 24, 2018 }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~stark/Preprints/RLAwhitepaper12.pdf |title=Risk-Limiting Post-Election Audits: Why and How |last1=Lindeman |first1=Mark|first2=Jennie|last2= Bretschneider|first3= Sean|last3= Flaherty|first4= Susannah|last4=Goodman|first5=Mark|last5=Halvorson|first6= Roger |last6=Johnston|first7= Ronald L.|last7=Rivest|first8=Pam|last8=Smith|first9=Philip B.|last9=Stark |date=October 1, 2012 |website=University of California at Berkeley |pages=3, 16 |access-date=April 9, 2018}}
although seals can typically be removed and reapplied without damage, especially in the first 48 hours. Photos taken when the seal is applied can be compared to photos taken when the seal is opened.{{Cite web |url=https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~stark/Preprints/lhc18.pdf |title=An Introduction to Risk-Limiting Audits and Evidence-Based Elections Prepared for the Little Hoover Commission |last=Stark |first=Philip |date=July 26, 2018 |website=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=August 16, 2019}}
Detecting subtle tampering requires substantial training.{{Cite news |url=http://www.alu.army.mil/alog/issues/JulAug12/Choose_Use_Seals.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224233221/http://www.alu.army.mil/alog/issues/JulAug12/Choose_Use_Seals.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 24, 2013 |title=How to Choose and Use Seals |last=Johnston |first=Roger G. |author2=Jon S. Warner |date=July 31, 2012 |work=Army Sustainment |access-date=May 4, 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Coherent Cyber |publisher=Freeman, Craft McGregor Group |date=August 28, 2017 |title=Security Test Report ES&S Electionware 5.2.1.0 |url=http://votingsystems.cdn.sos.ca.gov/vendors/ess/evs5210/ess5210-sec.pdf |pages=9 |via=California Secretary of State}}{{Cite web |last=Stauffer |first=Jacob |date=November 4, 2016 |title=Vulnerability & Security Assessment Report Election Systems &Software's Unity 3.4.1.0 |url=https://www.verifiedvoting.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ESS-red-team-CA-2016.pdf |via=Freeman, Craft, MacGregor Group for California Secretary of State}} Election officials usually take too little time to examine seals, and observers are too far away to check seal numbers, though they could compare old and new photos projected on a screen. If seal numbers and photos are kept for later comparison, these numbers and photos need their own secure storage. Seals can also be forged. Seals and locks can be cut so observers cannot trust the storage. If the storage is breached, election results cannot be checked and corrected.
Experienced testers can usually bypass all physical security systems. LocksThere are several sources on lock vulnerabilities:
- Lockpicking is widely taught and practiced: {{Cite news |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/03/locksport-the-strange-things-that-happen-at-a-lock-picking-convention.html |title=The Strange Things That Happen at a Lock-picking Convention |last=Vanderbilt |first=Tom |date=March 12, 2013|work=Slate |access-date=August 15, 2019 |language=en}}
- Different techniques apply to electronic locks: {{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-locks-cyber-exclusive-idUSKCN1UW26Z |title=Exclusive: High-security locks for government and banks hacked by researcher |last=Menn |first=Joseph |date=August 6, 2019 |work=Reuters |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en}}
- More on electronic locks: {{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2017/08/the-hotel-hacker/ |title=Inside an Epic Hotel Room Hacking Spree |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=August 29, 2017 |magazine=Wired |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}
- There are no statistics on how often criminals enter rooms undetected, but law enforcement often does so, so ability to enter rooms undetected is widespread: {{Cite web |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/10/peekaboo-i-see-you-government-uses-authority-meant-terrorism-other-uses |title=Peekaboo, I See You: Government Authority Intended for Terrorism is Used for Other Purposes |last=Tien |first=Lee |date=October 26, 2014 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en |access-date=August 15, 2019}}
and camerasSecurity camera flaws have been covered extensively:
- {{Cite web |url=https://www.ifsecglobal.com/cyber-security/how-to-hack-a-security-camera/ |title=How to hack a security camera. It's alarmingly simple |last=Bannister |first=Adam |date=October 7, 2016 |website=IFSEC Global, Security and Fire News and Resources |access-date=August 16, 2019}}
- {{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/08/02/u-s-military-spends-millions-on-dangerous-chinese-tech-with-known-cyber-risks/ |title=Official Cybersecurity Review Finds U.S. Military Buying High-Risk Chinese Tech (Updated) |last=Doffman |first=Zak |work=Forbes |access-date=August 14, 2019 |language=en}}
- {{Cite web |url=https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/10/hacking_securit.html |title=Hacking Security Cameras - Schneier on Security |last=Schneier |first=Bruce |date=October 8, 2007 |website=www.schneier.com |access-date=August 16, 2019}}
- {{Cite web |url=https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2019/06/11/critical-flaws-found-in-amcrest-security-cameras/ |title=Critical flaws found in Amcrest security cameras |last=Dunn |first=John |date=June 11, 2019 |website=Naked Security |language=en |access-date=August 16, 2019}}
are vulnerable before and after delivery.
Guards can be bribed or blackmailed. Insider threats{{Cite news |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2007/11/elections_board_workers_to_tak.html |title=Elections board workers take plea deal |last=Turner |first=Karl |date=November 5, 2007 |work=Cleveland Plain Dealer |access-date=August 17, 2019 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |url=http://votewell.homestead.com/clark_county_report.pdf |title=Report on the 2016 Presidential Recount in Clark County, Nevada. Page 20. |last=Recount Now |date=January 11, 2017|website=Internet Archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812144903/http://votewell.homestead.com/clark_county_report.pdf |access-date=August 17, 2019|archive-date=2019-08-12 }}
and the difficulty of following all security procedures are usually under-appreciated, and most organizations do not want to learn their vulnerabilities.{{Cite web |url=http://losspreventionmedia.com/insider/retail-security/physical-security-threats-and-vulnerabilities/ |title=Physical Security Threats and Vulnerabilities - LPM |last=Seivold |first=Garett |date=April 2, 2018 |website=losspreventionmedia.com |language=en-US |access-date=April 24, 2018}}
Security recommendations include preventing access by anyone alone,{{Cite web |url=https://electionaudits.org/files/Audit%20Principles%20and%20Best%20Practices%202018.pdf |title=Principles and Best Practices for Post-Election Tabulation Audits |date=2018 |website=ElectionAudits.org |access-date=August 12, 2019}}
which would typically require two hard-to-pick locks, and having keys held by independent officials if such officials exist in the jurisdiction; having storage risks identified by people other than those who design or manage the system; and using background checks on staff.
No US state has adequate laws on physical security of the ballots.{{Cite conference |book-title=Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Electronic Voting |last=Benaloh|display-authors=etal|title=Public Evidence from Secret Ballots |year=2017 |isbn=9783319686875 |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=122 |oclc=1006721597 |arxiv=1707.08619}}
Starting the tally soon after voting ends makes it feasible for independent parties to guard storage sites.Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) policy calls for independent foreign officials to sleep with ballots, and allows parties to do so:
- {{Cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6e84.html |title=Municipal Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina |last=International Crisis Group (ICG) |date=September 10, 1997 |website=RefWorld |language=en |access-date=August 12, 2019 }}
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.ohr.int/ohr_archive/ohr-srt-news-summary-7-september-1998/ |title=OHR SRT News Summary, September 7, 1998 |date=September 7, 1998 |website=Office of the High Representative (Bosnia+Herzegovina) |language=en-US |access-date=August 12, 2019 }}
Turkish opposition sleeping with balllots:
- {{Cite news |url=https://ahvalnews.com/local-elections/turkeys-opposition-sleeping-beside-ballots-safeguard-democracy |title=Turkey's opposition sleeping beside ballots to safeguard democracy |date=April 4, 2019 |work=Ahval |access-date=August 12, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812170256/https://ahvalnews.com/local-elections/turkeys-opposition-sleeping-beside-ballots-safeguard-democracy |url-status=dead }}
- {{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/world/europe/turkey-erdogan-election-loss.html |title=A Political Quake in Turkey as Erdogan's Party Loses in His Home Base of Support |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=April 1, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 12, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 }}
Republicans guarded warehouse of voted ballots in 2000 in Florida and had state police lock up ballots in New Mexico:
- {{Cite web |url=https://adst.org/2016/10/2000-presidential-election-florida-recount/ |title=The 2000 Presidential Election – The Florida Recount |last=Cobb |first=Sue |date=2016-10-17 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training |language=en-US |access-date=2020-03-11 }}
- {{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Deborah |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/elex/apvotes10-31-04.htm |title=ABQjournal: Contentious 2000 Election Closest in N.M. History |date=2004-10-31 |work=Albuquerque Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607181458/https://www.abqjournal.com/elex/apvotes10-31-04.htm |access-date=2020-03-11 |archive-date=2021-06-07 }}
=Secure transport and internet=
The ballots can be carried securely to a central station for central tallying, or they can be tallied at each polling place, manually or by machine, and the results sent securely to the central elections office. Transport is often accompanied by representatives of different parties to ensure honest delivery. Colorado transmits voting records by internet from counties to the Secretary of State, with hash values also sent by internet to try to identify accurate transmissions.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/rule_making/CurrentRules/8CCR1505-1/Rule25.pdf |title=Rule 25. Post-election audit |website=Colorado Secretary of State |access-date=2020-02-18}}
Postal voting is common worldwide, though France stopped it in the 1970s because of concerns about ballot security. Voters who receive a ballot at home may also hand-deliver it or have someone else to deliver it. The voter may be forced or paid to vote a certain way, or ballots may be changed or lost during the delivery process,{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4406575.stm |title=Judge upholds vote-rigging claims |date=2005-04-04 |work=BBC |access-date=2020-02-18 |language=en-GB}}
or delayed so they arrive too late to be counted or for signature mis-matches to be resolved.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/thousands-mailed-ballots-florida-were-not-counted-n946306|title=Thousands of mailed ballots in Florida were not counted|website=NBC News|date=11 December 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-03-27}}
It raised turnout in Oregon only in Presidential election years by 4%, turning occasional voters into regular voters, without bringing in new voters.{{Cite journal |url=http://web.mit.edu/berinsky/www/whovotesbymail.pdf |last=BERINSKY |first=ADAM J. |author2=NANCY BURNS |author3=MICHAEL W. TRAUGOTT |title=Who Votes by Mail?: A Dynamic Model of the Individual-Level Consequences of Voting-by-Mail Systems |date=2001 |journal=Public Opinion Quarterly |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=178–197 |doi=10.1086/322196 |pmid=11420755 |access-date=2020-02-18}}
Election offices do not mail to people who have not voted recently, and letter carriers do not deliver to recent movers they do not know, omitting mobile populations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nonprofitvote.org/documents/2011/02/vote-by-mail-doesnt-deliver-slater.doc|title=Vote-by-Mail Doesn't Deliver|last=Slater|first=Michael |author2=Teresa James|work=NonprofitVote.org|date=2007-06-29|access-date=2020-02-18|archive-date=2017-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510114256/http://www.nonprofitvote.org/documents/2011/02/vote-by-mail-doesnt-deliver-slater.doc|url-status=dead}}
Some jurisdictions let ballots be sent to the election office by email, fax, internet or app.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/internet-voting.aspx |title=Electronic Transmission of Ballots |website=National Conference of State Legislatures |access-date=2020-02-18}}
Internet so far has also been insecure, including in Switzerland,{{Cite news |last=Zetter |first=Kim |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/experts-find-serious-problems-with-switzerlands-online-voting-system-before-public-penetration-test-even-begins/ |title=Experts Find Serious Problems With Switzerland's Online Voting System |date=2019-02-21 |work=Vice |access-date=2020-02-18 |language=en}}
and Estonia.{{Cite web |url=https://estoniaevoting.org/ |title=Independent Report on E-voting in Estonia - A security analysis of Estonia's Internet voting system by international e-voting experts. |access-date=2020-02-18}}
Apps try to verify the correct voter is using the app by name, date of birth and signature,{{Cite news |last=Parks |first=Miles |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/22/798126153/exclusive-seattle-area-voters-to-vote-by-smartphone-in-1st-for-u-s-elections |title=Exclusive: Seattle-Area Voters To Vote By Smartphone In 1st For U.S. Elections |date=2020-01-22 |work=NPR |access-date=2020-02-18 |language=en}}
which are widely available for most voters, so can be faked; or by name, ID and video selfie, which can be faked by loading a pre-recorded video. Apps have been particularly criticized for operating on insecure phones, and pretending to more security during transmission than they have.{{Cite news |last=Zetter |first=Kim |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/sloppy-mobile-voting-app-used-in-four-states-has-elementary-security-flaws/ |title='Sloppy' Mobile Voting App Used in Four States Has 'Elementary' Security Flaws |date=2020-02-13|work=Vice |access-date=2020-02-18 |language=en}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930000436/http://www.electiontechnology.com/research.php The Election Technology Library research list] – a comprehensive list of research relating to technology use in elections
- [http://www.aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/e-voting/ E-Voting information] from [http://www.aceproject.org ACE Project]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090211235108/http://www.electionreformproject.org/ AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project]
- [http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting Voting and Elections by Douglas W. Jones: Thorough articles about the history and problems with Voting Machinery]
- Selker, Ted [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00018DD5-73E7-1151-B57F83414B7F0000 Scientific American Magazine Fixing the Vote] October 2004
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071107152743/http://www.brennancenter.org/stack_detail.asp?key=97&subkey=38150&init_key=105 The Machinery of Democracy: Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost] from [http://www.brennancenter.org Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law]
- [http://www.aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/vc/topic_index An index of articles on vote counting] from the [http://www.aceproject.org ACE Project] guide to designing and administering elections
Category:Elections in the United States