See the entire Ballot Bills election solution – click the Table of Contents + for quick links to each section header

LET’S LOOK AT THE FUTURE USING BALLOT BILLS

View the following “Ballot Bills” video to see the Mock County Texas results processing, then compare it to the “Blanket ballot” hand processing of the same Mock County Texas results.

Below is a quick video of our Ballot Bills Processing of the Mock County election.

The below Counter would differentiate Ballot Bills, so that errors made in sorting can be isolated in the 2nd or reject pocket. See/watch example below:

Below Modified Mock County election long version videos link

https://mockcountytx.us/election-results – This link takes you to the full set of Mock County Election videos

Below pictured link is short version of the Blanket ballot “Modified” hand-processing video of the same Mock County election. “Modified” = 2 persons + electronic counters instead of the standard 4 person process, AVII

Comparison Results: Blanket ballot – 250 ballots used 10 workers that took 1 hr. and 4 min; totaling 640 worker minutes. Ballot Bills – 250 ballots used 4 workers that took 43 min. 18 sec. totaling 173.2 worker minutes.

Ballot Bills processing is 3.7 times MORE efficient than hand-count ballot processing utilizing blanket “bubble” ballots in this comparison.

Ballot process time – Ballot/worker seconds

• Mock County Modified 250 Blanket Ballot 153.6 seconds
• 250 Ballot Bills Mock County 41.6 seconds
• 250 Blanket Ballots AVII process = unknown – The AVII process uses the traditional process.

Next Level – Using Ballot Bills could yield rapid, transparent, and accurate results, with this equipment !!!

Future Ballot Bills processing has the potential to be highly automatic, doing both sorting and counting. Processed results are tangible, counted stacks of Ballot Bills that represents individual candidate or issue count.

So, why Ballot Bills?

Ballot Bills remove the need for physical marking a blanket ballot, rely on a simple sorting process for both voters and processing, providing physical proof positive results. Ballot Bills remove the need for programmable scanning and the need for adjudication. Ballot Bills allow for quick auditing, satisfying laws and claims refuting results. Ballot Bills do not support rank choice voting.

With Ballot Bills, we are no longer auditing the technology! We are directly auditing the votes!

When Ballot Bill votes are counted, they are treated like cash, either manually sorted then counted using a currency counter or sorted and counted using a currency counter. Banks, businesses, and casinos around the world rely on the accuracy and efficiency of currency counting machines. These machines are able to detect counterfeit bills, as well as instantly provide totals. This equipment may be used in the same way to count votes. Ballot Bills help to negate human error at all steps during the “voting and tallying” process as well as produce credible and transparent results.

PRECINCT VOTING USING BALLOT BILLS

Video showing comparison of Ballot Bills voting vs. Traditional Bubble Ballot.

Sort/Count Process Using fully automatic Banking Equipment

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Ballot Sort/Count at Precinct “Manual Process” 

BALLOT BILLS ELECTION SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND LOGIC

This website Blog contains opinions of the owner about current and past processes, as well as, driving political forces that are involved in our election processes.

Let’s analyze the various factors influencing our elections

First the Blanket Ballot and “hand counting ballots”

History tells the story- Let”s look at the obvious, the blanket ballot used in 1888 was nearly as complicated as it is today. (See Supporting Information Header) The public accepted it because it provided a more neutral ballot and less confusing than was previously provided by the parties. To properly hand count the blanket ballot requires significant time and labor. I liken it to a community soup pot, then a group trying to identifying every ingredient in the soup and how much of each. Not an easy task, especially because you need total agreement on each little piece and tallying all of it with agreement. For election integrity, it requires 4 persons to count a ballot: one caller, one witness of the callers’ call, 2 persons independently marking the called vote on tally sheets, with opposing parties represented for both the call and marking. The compared candidate’s totals of the two tally sheets must then be equal. If not, that batch of ballots is redone and recounted.

THE BLANKET “bubble” BALLOT BECOMES THE BIG ENABLER – THE CENTRAL PROBLEM

Ballot Bills background information

The Blanket Ballot (used today) is obviously a major problem. In fact, my analysis shows it to be the central problem. So we need to ask the how, why, when, where, engineering questions.

How is it a problem? Because it takes significant manpower to hand process and cannot be done the traditional way in the desired time constraints, unless precincts organize very large groups of volunteers or pay workers. see the AVII process on the internet.

Why? Two reasons, first, the public is less engaged because computers are thought as doing the election process work. Secondly, because it opens the door for computers/scanners, it’s the enabler that money and power uses to build their advantageous very lucrative conglomerate. All of which is not acceptable to the populace, they want integrity, knowing the results are correct. The populace is seriously concerned about fixing the problems but, at this point everyone is working INSIDE the box for solutions, YES, from an engineering standpoint they are “inside the box”. Many want to go back to traditional Hand Counting the blanket ballot. I agree it works for a small population of absentee ballots, but for all ballots? No, it will leave them vulnerable to the same forces of the past, cries for quick results and County clerks wanting systems to meet “so called” requirements. In my experience, trying to fix an inherently flawed base process always yields back to the same past result. In this case back to the easy known – computers/scanners. Solution – Ballot Bills election system is an OUTSIDE the box solution, a complete detour around the nightmare we have today.

When? Another major problem, voting was designed by our founders as an Election Day. We need to get back to one day simple “decoupled” elections. – A simple solution surrounding our election complexity is to have the Federal election isolated to its own day. The States could be held in the same way, one day, thus leaving the County and City elections by themselves. This would result in a much more informed voter and better elections.

Where? Elections have recently been centralized into voting centers. Another planned idea to take control away from the voter. Result, long lines, confusion and elections operated by the “authorities” not the public! It is now taking days/weeks to count! Simple solution – It becomes very difficult to pull off nefarious activity in your own neighborhood, because most neighbors will not stand for it. Elections should be reinstated back to neighborhood precincts with no more than 1500 voters per site.

Yet, the same issues of the blanket ballot continue, the problem still lies with the complicated blanket ballot. In fact the problem continues to get worse, elections are combined into massive combined “coupled” elections including; Federal, State, City, County, Judges, Propositions for State, County and City, School boards, where does it end? The voters are maxed out, The voters are bombarded from all sides with mis-information, how do you make good decisions and informed judgements while working and living a busy life? Is something nefarious going on to make elections more complicated? Darkness/evil loves complication and confusion. 

The computer/scanner systems

Today we deal with the same issues !!! Introducing computers that are more and more complicated, provided by companies that claim them to be accurate and secure. Yet the public does not trust them, because as the public learns more about computers, many people know that inside the black box, algorithm’s can do anything that the software programmers can create. Just like the past, think about the drivers, money, power, control, the same things that have plagued all elections but to the Nth degree. Integrity? How do you develop trust in a system that is supplied by companies that will not allow the software code to be publicly available. What is the software supposed to do? It should be very simple software code that just counts the votes.

My engineering view of todays’ elections using computerized systems, is that there are just too many variables/ levers which can be pulled within the current election systems. It becomes impossible to build integrity, transparency, and control of computerized election systems. Especially, one that is designed to insert the blanket ballot into a scanner then digitize it for computer programs to do whatever?

Transparency and integrity solution requirements, in order of importance.

1. Eliminate the blanket ballot.
2. One, medium used, for both the voter and counters no transfering of the vote to another medium.
3. Ballot physically present from Start to Finish
4. Transparency in processing that can be videoed from start to finish.
5. Fast and accurate results that can be verified/audited quickly.
6. Easy to use ballot, not confusing, easy to read.
7. Eliminate issues of the voters/ intent. Examples; incomplete bubble, pen used, spoiled ballots, etc.
8. Take human error out of the process, mechanize the counting process if at all possible.
9. Keep Time/Cost/Space/constraints as low as possible.
10. Provide a means to check for counterfeit ballots to ensure integrity.
11. Processing that can be done by High School Students with over-site if possible.
12. Can be utilized for all voters-handicap, absentee, blind
13. Provides back-up audit capabilities

Compare the above Ballot Bills solution to the requirements. Can the current solutions qualify?

The only requirement that Ballot Bills cannot fully meet is being utilized for all voters! I see this issue as one that can be dealt with by using the “Traditional Blanket Ballot” for absentee voters and for some handicap voters. Ballot Bills can be printed with braille for the blind.

Supporting Information

Over the last two and a half centuries, our ballots have grown in complexity, causing challenges with providing efficient results. The original method of manually tallying votes is no longer efficient or practical with our blanket bubble ballot, currently “coupled” all together, i.e. Federal, State, etc. ballot. Methods of punch cards and mechanical lever voting machines have been retired. Direct-recording electronic voting machines (touch screen voting) lacks the ability to produce an auditable record and many States have adopted some sort of audit law. The most common process to count votes for our current elections is based on 1960’s optical scan vote tallying technology. A quick look at the blanket bubble ballot below reveals its complexity and the need for this type of ballot to nearly require computers and programmable software to yield results.

Though fill-in-the-bubble ballots have been used for thousands of elections, there are still potential flaws in this process. History has revealed ballot programming errors, where the candidates were listed in one order and the scanner read and recorded the candidates in a different order. Requiring voters to use ink to mark their choice can lead to potential scanning errors if incidental arrant marks are made. Third-party officials are then responsible for adjudicating any erroneous ballots. This adds more time, more labor and the potential for uncertainty. After all, to error is human.

In the United States, our “Election Day” is a one-day event designated for voters to cast ballots for their desired candidates and issues. Voting has traditionally been performed “in-person” at local precincts. The concept of “absentee voting” was introduced in the late 1800’s due to wartime necessity.

As our elections have increased in size and complexity, so have our ballots. Repeated attempts have been made to improve the counting process, but one should argue the ballot itself, should be revised !!!

History of the Ballot – by National Museum of American history

Wooden ballot with clay marbles
The term “ballot” is derived from the Italian ballotta, meaning “little ball.” This ballot box was not used in a U.S. election. It was used by members of a Washington, D.C., social club.
Gift of Society for the Oldest Inhabitants of Washington, D.C.

Paper ballots

Voting in the 19th century usually involved casting a printed paper ballot. State election laws typically specified the dimensions and thickness of the paper, and the size of type to be used. The rest was left to the issuing parties, local party operatives, and candidates, resulting in various ballot forms and styles—and a potential for voter confusion and fraud.

The Blanket Ballot (still used today)

Developed in South Australia in the 1850s, the blanket ballot—listing all candidates for office regardless of party—was gradually adopted in the United States after 1888. The printing and distribution of such all-inclusive ballots became a function of government rather than competing parties. The voter typically marked the ballot in the privacy of a voting booth, sometimes guided by party symbols—like the eagle guarding a glass jar ballot box representing the Republican ticket of William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart, top left.

Gear and Lever

The gear-and-lever voting machine rendered the Australian ballot in steel. Later, computerized punch card ballots became an acceptable alternative that allowed for the speedy tabulation and announcement of returns.

ine, The New Yorker, November 3, 1956

Butterfly Ballot

This ballot used Votomatic punch cards as the recorder medium that was counted in a counting machine. This ballot type brought in the “Hanging Chad” controversy that plagued the George W. Bush vs. Al Gore election.

The close presidential contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush came down to a struggle over the Florida vote. In Florida Bush led Gore by 930 votes out of six million votes cast. Gore asked for a recount by hand of ballots from four counties in which his support was believed to be strong. To conduct the recount in Palm Beach County, citizens organized into teams of two Republican and two Democratic Party counters and observers. A magenta-colored card is used to help identify the holes in the ballots.

Obviously, the complicated blanket ballot was difficult for processing the votes and for fast results, but, not a problem back in agrarian times. As time marched on, the people moved to cities and desires changed. The public wanted quick results and current news as the printing press, radio, and television pushed the envelope. An increasing population and women’s right to vote also weighed heavily on the time for poll workers to count increasing numbers of ballots. Something had to give, so new ideas emerged to deal with the Blanket ballot, the rest is history.

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