Immediately after the first hand-count of a batch of 50 ballots, a second hand-count, on a new tally sheet, was done of this same batch of 50 ballots by these same counters. Again, the entire ballot of each voter was tallied before the counters proceeded to the next voter’s ballot. This time, the person who had read the names out loud marked each vote on the tally sheet, and the person who had tallied read out loud the ballot choices. After the votes on all 50 ballots in a batch were marked on the tally sheet, the totals for each contest were obtained and written on the tally sheet. If the totals for the candidates in any contest or for any initiative were not exactly the same on the first and second tally sheets (i.e. on the first and second countings), these contests or initiatives were counted a third time. I observed such a situation two times.
The HCPB election in Acton, ME demonstrates that paper ballots can be hand-counted immediately a second time, at the precinct on election night, before the results are posted at the precinct, in order to ensure an honest and transparent count in a timely manner. The election in Acton, ME also indicates that paper ballots can be hand-counted in a very short time. With seven races and two initiatives, the six teams of two people each were able to hand-count twice 944 ballots in four hours.
ROCKPORT, MA, MAY 2, 2006, TOWN ELECTIONHUDSON, MA, May 8, 2006, TOWN ELECTION
The elections in Rockport and Hudson will be discussed together because they were similar in various respects. Both counted the votes cast only once,[7] and both used the same kind of tally sheets provided by the MA Secretary of State. In both jurisdictions the ballots were counted into batches of 50. The tally sheet was a large piece of paper that was marked off into a grid with horizontal and vertical lines forming small rectangular boxes (similar to the squares of graph paper). The vertical columns were marked with a heavy line at each multiple of five columns. There were 50 rectangular boxes across each horizontal line. At the top of the tally sheet, each vertical column was numbered from 1-50. On both the left hand and right hand sides of the tally sheet were the names of the people running in that particular race. One tally, as a hash mark, was put into one box, beside the name of the person voted for. A voter’s entire ballot was tallied for all of the contests before the counters went on to tally the next voter’s ballot. After the 50 ballots were tallied, the totals for each contest were entered into the “Totals” column at the end of the 50th box. Blanks and write-ins were also marked on this sheet. Four or five teams of two poll workers did the hand-count. One read from the ballot, and the other person placed the hash mark in the appropriate box on the tally sheet.
Rockport, MA used an old wooden ballot box.[8] A poll worker turned the brass handle on the box as each voter put her/his ballot into the box. Numbers on the front of the box automatically changed as ballots were placed in it, counting the cumulative number of ballots placed in the box. The machine marked each ballot with the precinct number down the center of the ballot as it went through the machine. The preceding characteristics of the ballot box provided a measure of security for the ballots, minimizing the danger of stuffing the ballot box, a criticism often leveled at the HCPB process. As noted earlier, this paper does not examine in detail issues of security such as chain of custody, but rather deals with protocols for HCPB.
There were two crews of poll workers, morning and afternoon. One crew came in at 6:30AM and worked until 12:30PM. The second crew came in at 12:30PM and worked until 6:30PM. At 6:30PM, the second crew went home for dinner until 8PM, when they came back to hand-count the paper ballots. The morning shift came back at 6:30PM to work at the polls and then to hand-count the paper ballots. The polls closed at 8PM. The paper ballots were hand-counted by five teams of two workers each.
In Hudson, the ballot box was an old box made of gray wood. The ballot box rang when the voter put in her/his ballot, and the poll worker turned the crank of the box, moving the ballot from the slot of the box into the box. When the poll worker cranked the ballot into the ballot box, each ballot was inked with “Town of Hudson, precinct 6.”[9] This ballot box also provided a degree of security for the ballots.
The Clerk could hire eight people per precinct, not including the Warden and Clerk, who were also present for the hand-counting. There were two shifts of poll workers, 7AM-5PM and 5PM-8PM, which was when the polls closed. The second shift did the counting. Poll workers had to be registered voters in the town of Hudson. Although it was preferred that the counters lived in the precinct where they worked, it was not necessary.
The elections in Rockport and Hudson again demonstrate that paper ballots can be hand-counted in a reasonable time. In Rockport, it took about one hour to hand-count 522 ballots; there were six races and no initiatives. In Hudson it took about one hour to hand-count 59 ballots; there were 14 races and no initiatives. As noted, both communities used ballot boxes that provided a degree of security for the ballots.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO BEGIN WITH THE 2008 GENERAL ELECTION (WHICH INCLUDES THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION)
Recommendations Based on My Observations
(1) Based on my observations in Acton, ME, this paper recommends the hand-counting of paper ballots followed immediately by a complete second hand-counting and a reconciliation of the two counts, if necessary, by additional counting.[10] A second hand-counting is crucial to check the accuracy of the first hand-count. If a discrepancy is found between the two countings, counting should continue until the counts are reconciled. This paper also recommends the procedure used in Acton of counting the ballots into batches of 50, counting a batch of 50 and then immediately counting that batch of 50 again. Some critics of electronic voting machines have pointed out the need to obtain a second count, called an audit, after the first original tabulation of votes; however, there is no consensus as to how such an audit should or could be done. The second counting of ballots recommended in this paper goes beyond the concept of an audit to a comprehensive process encompassing a second counting of every vote and a reconciliation of the two counts.
(2) From my observations of these three hand countings, I prefer the tally sheets used in Acton, ME over the graph-like grid used in both Rockport, MA and Hudson, MA. During my observations, it appeared that the Acton tally sheet was easier for the counters to use. With the grid-like tally sheets, care had to be taken by the counters not to lose their place.
(3) Because HCPB require careful attention to and scrutiny of the ballots, it is recommended that people who have not worked at the polls all day come in to do the counting, as in Acton, ME.
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