Vote counting system
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Contents
Manual counting
In some jurisdictions, the ballots are counted manually, either by permanent or temporary state employees. Counting may be supervised by scrutineers, appointed by the candidates.- Positive points: When the possible choices on the ballot are simple (a yes/no answer to a referendum, a simple choice in a variety of candidates or lists), the counting is simple and fast.
- * The process may be simply understood and witnessed by any voter.
- * If a result is challenged, paper ballots can be readily recounted.
- Negative points: This scales time, cost, and accuracy poorly with more complex ballots or with the number of simultaneous votes.
- * It introduces human error and the possibility of first hand fraud during tabulation.
- * Voter intent must be determined by manually introducing such problems as hanging chads.
Electromechanical and Optical scan counting
Paper ballots, typically punch cards or marksense, are collected and fed into a tablualtion machine which counts them.- Positive points: The system scales time and cost well with more complex ballots or with any number of simultaneous votes.
- * Tabulation can be further audited manually.
- * Can notify voter of overvoting or undervoting by returning ballot on feed.
- Negative points: Ballots may become stuck together during tabulation causing some ballots not to be counted.
- * Incorrect marks may cause a spoiled ballot.
- * It introduces the possibility of mechanical defect.
- * All paper ballots can increase cost of printing ballots in multiple languages.
Mechanical counting
Voters push a plastic chip into holes of a voting machine which then increments a mechanical counter. The chips belonging to each party are collected in a bag attached to the voting machine.- Positive points:
- * Counting the votes amounts to merely reading of the counts on the individual counters of the voting machine, hence a result for the election can be obtained very quickly.
- * Due to the chips being collected in bags, it is afterwards easy to recount the votes, so the usual risks of an election being manipulated by the software used in electronic machines can be avoided.
- Negative points:
- * As the size of the machines is fixed, so is the number of parties/candidates one machine can cater for. Hence, they can only be used for elections in which the number of choices is reasonably small. Hence, even though they are in use in Germany, they are typically only used for local or regional elections.
Direct-recording electronic counting
Voters input their vote directly into a DRE voting machine.- Positive points: The system scales time and cost well with more complex ballots or with any number of simultaneous votes.
- * Ballots can be easily programmed in any language.
- * Tabulation is exact and faster than any other form of tabualtion.
- Negative points: Many DRE machines use complex and proprietary software.
- * Voter confidence may be lowered based on the perception of a lack of security.
- * Some DRE machines do not have a Voter Verified Audit Trail.
See also
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