Post Voting System Electronic Audit Logs online in every jurisdiction
Electronic voting systems--both the optical scan systems that count paper ballots and the direct recording electronic (DRE) "touchscreen" voting systems--produce about a dozen different "audit logs" after each election. It is difficult (sometimes impossible) and expensive for citizens to try to obtain these logs, even though they are public records. The logs can reveal procedural problems, problems with the machines ...more »
Electronic voting systems--both the optical scan systems that count paper ballots and the direct recording electronic (DRE) "touchscreen" voting systems--produce about a dozen different "audit logs" after each election. It is difficult (sometimes impossible) and expensive for citizens to try to obtain these logs, even though they are public records. The logs can reveal procedural problems, problems with the machines themselves, and fraud. Currently, the more an elections administrator has to hide, the harder it is to obtain these records. Our non-profit, nonpartisan, election watchdog organization has spent thousands of dollars trying to obtain these audit logs from Florida counties. Some counties are cooperative, but in some cases we are still waiting for records as far back as the 2004 election, or have been told they are "lost," "the hard drive failed," "the logs are not in human readable form," and other suspect reasons for not producing the most basic information about the conduct of an election. It would be very simple for elections offices to post these logs on the website of each county's election department immediately following every election -- it is simply an electronic transfer of these records. In fact, there is no good reason NOT to post these logs except to cover up machine malfunctions, incompetence, malfeasance, or some other problem. The "poll tapes" (results tapes) from each machine should also be posted. These tapes are supposed to be public information, but in some places such as Pima County, Arizona, citizens have been told that these results tapes are "secret." The poll tapes can be a vital check on election results and should never be secret. Requiring them to be posted online would allow every citizen to look at his/her own precinct and would help to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the election.
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