New York City Change To Optical Scan Elections: Not the answer, but getting closer

So Beware the optical scan. It too features secret vote counting, proprietary software, no public observation or verification, and the single check of the paper recount is expensive, unwieldy, resisted, and even the laws allowing them tend to be gamed against good recounts.*

The solution is hand counts, because they have the most advanced system of checks and balances every developed by humanity for elections, and we step backwards when we adopt invisible electronics. People readily admit hand counts are best for final recounts (the most accurate system) and for smaller jurisdictions but tend to think hand counts can’t work in the big city. But if you think about it, whatever the ratio that is needed of workers per 1000 ballots in the small town, that same ratio or very close to it will work in the big city. They may have more ballots, but they also have more people to be workers. I doubt that, appropriately encouraged, city folks are less patriotic about their democracy than small town folks because we all realize that in the end, without procedural integrity in our elections, we have nothing at all.

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