Reply #39: Believing the Electronic Machines are here to stay = giving up. Period!

[rhite5]

I agree the national Presidential election should be separated from all the other things we vote on. Separate elections. Separate days.

The Presidential Election vote should be hand counted at the Precinct level. The results made public immediately. It is not an overwhelming job if precincts are kept relatively small.

Most of the rest of the world does it this way. Why must we be different? Being different illustrates that we are NOT as smart as the rest of the world.

The original HAND COUNT creates the the essential AUDIT TRAIL that anybody can follow. Many people will independently compile the results from the separate precincts to see what COUNTY TOTALS should be. This includes the media as well as a lot of us. We all have computers. The precinct results can be posted on a web page and totaled for all to see.

The same goes for the COUNTY RESULTS which must add up to the STATE RESULTS. It is NOT rocket science!

Sure, there will be other factors (called "reconciling factors") including the Absentee Vote, the Military Vote, etc. And these need a clearly separate audit trail. But the bulk of the vote will be the numbers coming from the precincts.

That original count is where all challenges should take place. It should be conducted by partisans representing all sides in the vote as well as non-partisan observers. It is best if it is not done by hired election workers. Use volunteers supervised by paid staff. I think plenty of volunteers could be recruited. Look how many are willing now to volunteer to be poll watchers and such! Being an official counter at an election should be a prestigiuos thing. Responsible Citizens doing their civic duty. High School students could be used - a great civic lesson. Volunteers could even film the process.

Remember, the typical precinct only will have 300-600 actual ballots to count. These could easily be counted twice in one or two hours. Once all who are present agree on the results the ballots themselves should be sealed in a bag. They will not be needed again unless a candidate demands a recount.

I believe this is the only way we can restore public confidence in elections. The costs will be minimal. A side benefit, many voters may return to actually voting again. I am pretty sure a big chunk of those who do not vote now, don't vote because they do not trust the system.