General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Did Anonymous really Save-the-Vote in Ohio? .... REALLY??? [View all]JohnnyRingo
(18,628 posts)When we unseal and pull the paper roll we have to have the machine print it's final report on the roll. On the paper is a tabulation that has to match the votes cast in the machine's memory exactly before we can sign off on it and lock it in a steel box with a tamper proof seal.
Remember, that vote was printed out right in front of the voter, and they can't pull out the card until it's finished doing so. Therefore, in the case of an audit or recount, the paper print out will reveal how people actually voted, regardless of what was stored in the machine's memory. Only those paper rolls are stored under lock and key for years in case the election is challenged. The log books we keep during the election (where we record the votes cast) are also stored and must confirm what the paper rolls show.
If the machine and paper print out tallies don't match at the close of election day, we have to stay and go through our sign in book, the paper rolls, and the digital machine count, to find the discrepancy. If we can't figure it out, the roll is sequestered and the event is logged in our book for the county board to investigate. Personally, though many trusting voters ignore the paper print out, I've never heard of a complaint from a voter that his vote was incorrectly logged on a Diebold machine, and it's certainly never happened to me.
On edit:
I have to mention that someone could indeed hack a machine to show an innacurate count, but because of that verified paper roll that was printed in front of each voter, evidence exists to prove fraud and an accurate count can be confirmed.