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Comment by smt88 | Hacker News Reader

The US systems are often similar to this, including the several steps of checks.

None of that matters in the face of conspiracy theorists who live in non-reality.

Yes - it’s been a few years since I lived there, but this was effectively the process we used in my California county. I’ve come to admire the simplicity of Scantron-esque ballots vs. many of these overengineered touch screen systems.

At least in my California we do have touchscreens for people with disabilities who can’t read (they need an audio ballot) or fill out a ballot with a pen. But when the one time I worked on the polls, no one even used the touchscreen.

In most places in CA, the touchscreens spit out a marked paper ballot that is then counted and stored with the rest.

Not really. Most of the US is run on a very opaque system of electronic machines and poorly thought out processes ostensibly to make it more secure.

Source?

I haven't heard of a large part of the US that doesn't have a auditable paper ballots as a backup for the electronic system.

auditable paper ballots are only good if there is an actually full audit, that almost never happens, and today if you advocate for one you are a "far alt-right wing conspiracy theorist"

That is far far far different that what is being talked about fro AU and Canada, where there is no electronic middle man that is trusted first...

There were full audits in the contested parts of the US this year. Where did they refuse to do one?

Source... the only full audit is the one still in progress in AZ.

Some (very very few) did "Risk Limiting" Audits, that audit a random sampling (some times as low as 2%) of ballots.

I am unaware of any full, hand recount not using any electronic machines audits that took place anywhere in the US outside of AZ.

Georgia did two full recounts that didn't use machines[1]. It was observed by Republicans, Democrats, and independents, and it was organized by Republican state officials.

The audit in progress in AZ is a partisan sham that has been challenged as unnecessary and politically motivated by local Republican researchers[2] and officials.

1. https://sos.ga.gov/index.php/elections/historic_first_statew...

2. https://tucson.com/news/local/political-notebook-tucson-repu...

From my Reading of the GA reports it was a Hand count of the Presidential Vote only, not of all Races.

I would hardly call that a Full Audit... but I will stand corrected in that one other state besides AZ is did a hand recount.

1 of 50 states, 14 of 435 Congressional Districts, and a small fraction of total races....

Why does it matter? It's not like they trust the machine. There are rolls and logs that multiple people must agree on.

No narrative of fraud at the counting stage makes any sense unless you haven't read how the count is secured without sacrificing too much speed.

Agree. I've voted in 4 states (NC, NY, VT, NH) and it has all been like above. And I've also served as election volunteer, checking absentee ballots against the voting rolls.

I appreciate the conspiracy theorists. Id rather have crazy people shout fire and things be looked at than have the election system taken for granted perpetually.

I would agree with you if they were good-faith actors motivated by caution.

Unfortunately in this case, they won't accept anything that invalidates their baseless belief that the election went the other way.

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