Ballot Certification Process

Between Election Day and the official State Vote Certification deadline, all ballots will undergo a full, unambiguously transparent counting process that will incorporate a full, verified count. This process may take several days, or longer if a recount is necessary, but its systematic, straightforward process ensures a near-bulletproof auditing protocol.

Brief Recap

It must be noted that using present voting protocols, the official count is (ostensibly) done with official ballot counters, counting and tallying the current ballots for all races, mostly on Election Night. So while the current process is technically faster than the new process as far as PHYSICALLY counting the ballots, the virtually foolproof method will necessarily take a few days. As stated before, the media release using the new system is going to reflect realtime machine counts derived from the precinct submissions of the actual voting, while the official counts in this secion will provide the official ballot vote result.

While most races will usually show a well-determinate result, such as 55% of the vote in a voting pool of 500,000, there isn’t that great a need to count those ballots on an immediate basis. But if the race is extremely close, usually within 0.5%, then the process explained below can be scaled upward to facilitate the result of the close election.

Setup

1. A Counting Team will be assigned to the process of counting all ballots for each precinct. The Counting Team consists of a group of counting pairs, not to exceed ten pairs per precinct. Each counting pair will consist of one member each from the Democratic and Republican parties (or Independent if either the Democratic or Republican party is outnumbered in state voter registrations). Finally, a Ballot Certification supervisor and an optional, credentialed assistant will control the ballot receptacles, distribution of the ballots, and oversee the operation for each precinct.
2. Each counting pair will be separated into their own station during the counting process.
3. The only other people allowed in the rooms or cubicle zones during the counting process, other than the above individuals and the Ballot Certification supervisor, are those ordered by judicial order, such as legal representatives, which are typically required in recounts.
4. The equipment in each counting room consists of the following equipment for each precinct:
   1. The mail-in ballot container of voters from the precinct being counted
   2. The Verified Registered Voter Ballot Receptacle
   3. The Provisional Voter Ballot Receptacle
   4. The Damaged Voter Ballot Receptacle
   5. Overhead station camera that records the entire process
   6. The Controller that starts / stops the initial time for the current ballot counting process
   7. Official Ballot Scanner / Imager that records each ballot and count at each station
   8. Pad to place ballot to register visual record under the BSI
   9. Return receptacle to place the Verified and Provisional ballots once counted and verified
   10. Return receptacle to place the Verified and Provisional ballots with conflictive results
   11. Return receptacle to place the Absentee ballots once counted and verified
   12. Return receptacle to place the Absentee ballots with conflictive results

Process

Counting of ballots is done in a similar, but more systematic matter with accountability both through automated as well as manual interaction. In addition, rather than one counter, there are two credentialed counters who are from the two most significant parties of the state, typically the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Part 1: Preparation and Initial Distribution

1. The supervisor starts the overhead camera feeds for each station, ensuring each feed is running correctly.
2. The supervisor secures the container of mail-in ballots for the precinct. In addition, the supervisor secures the Verified Register Voter Ballot Receptacle (Rec. 1), and the Provisional Voter Ballot Receptible (Rec. 2).  
3. The supervisor takes the container to his control room or area, which will always remain secure with no access except by the supervisor and his authorized delegate.
4. The supervisor obtains the printouts for each receptible, including each ballot count.
5. The supervisor powers up Rec. 1.
6. The supervisor enters his password onto the screen, and verifies that the votes are to be counted, and that Rec. 1 is in the secure counting area.
7. The machine provides a code onto the screen.
8. The supervisor enters the code into his computer station, where the Regional Manager authorizes the counting process and provides a counter-code.
9. The machine accepts the counter-code and authorizes the machine to be opened.
10. The supervisor opens the machine and removes the ballot stacker
11. The supervisor removes the ballots from the ballot stacker.
12. The supervisor creates groups of 25 ballots from the stack.
13. The supervisor distributes the 25-ballot groups to each counting team by taking them to each group, ensuring the security of the counting room prior to distribution.

Part 2: Counting of the Ballots

1. One of the counting team members (Counter A) receives the ballot group.
2. One of the counting team members clicks the “start process camera feed” button on the Controller. This allows the camera feed to start recording from time the button was clicked.
3. Counter A takes the first ballot from the group and cuts off the perforated line.
4. For regular ballots, Counter A folds back the ballot, breaking the seal and exposes the Ballot Slate. For absentee ballots, Counter A opens the ballot envelope and removes the ballot.
5. Counter A places the ballot onto the image scanner pad.
6. Counter A presses the scan button, where the imager processes the information and timestamps the video image with the ballot ID.
7. The image is shown on the counting pair area screen.
8. Counter A removes the ballot from the pad.
9. Counter A types in his PIN into the keyboard, which will prompt “Counter A ready to process Ballot ID (number).”
10. Example:
    Counter A: Race 1, Selection B, (Mayor, Jane Smith)
11. Counter A will repeat Step 10 for each race.
12. Once finished, Counter A clicks “Complete” on the keyboard and hands the ballot to Counter B.
13. Counter B recites the Race Number and the Candidate Selection Letter from the ballot into his microphone.
14. The machine transcribes the spoken audio into text, which should match Counter B’s recitation.
15. The screen shows “Counter B: Race (Number), Selection (Letter), (Race Text, Selection Text).
16. Counter B will repeat Step 8 for each race, with the screen indicating “Counter B.”
17. Once finished, Counter B clicks “Complete” on the keyboard.
18. If the screen displays, “Vote verified,” then one of the counters will place a sticker saying “Official” on the bottom on the ballot. Next, the ballot will be placed in the “Verified” ballot bin. Continue to the next ballot, or if last ballot, then to the Count Finish.
19. If the screen displays a warning “Ballot not verified. Resolve conflict,” and will provide the reason for the conflict. Conflict will most probably involve differences in reporting race results between the two counters. The race with the conflict will be shown, as well as the original result recorded on voting day.
20. If one of the counters match the original count, then the second counter will repeat the process. If he still feels there is a conflict, the two counters will discuss the ballot between themselves. If the discussion cannot be resolved, then one of the counters will enter the reason into the keyboard, place a sticker saying “Conflict” onto the ballot, and place the ballot into the “Unverified” ballot bin. Otherwise, if his recount matches both the other counter as well as the original count, then the screen will indicate “Ballot verified.” Each counter will enter their PIN into the screen. After placing a sticker saying “Official” on the bottom of the ballot, the counter will place the ballot placed into the Verified receptacle. For documentation purposes, the counter who initiated the original conflict will enter his pin number.
21. If both counters match each other’s count, but doesn’t match the original count, then each counter will repeat the process. If this process continues to match each other but not match the original count, one of the counters will place a sticker saying “Conflict” onto the ballot and place the ballot into “Unverified” ballot bin.” Both counters will be prompted to enter their PIN numbers to signify the conflict.
22. If the highly unlikely event that a ballot is damaged and cannot obviously be read, then the ballot would be placed into a “Damaged” envelope for safekeeping, with the Ballot ID written on the indicator line.
23. The damaged ballots, within their envelopes, are placed into the “Damaged” ballot bin.
24. Once counts are finished, a message is sent to the Supervisor to come get the ballots to take back to the control room.
25. Once the Supervisor retrieves the ballots, the camera on the Controller is pressed to provide the stopping time for the process. This recording file will be saved in a process folder in the Supervisor’s office.

Part 3: Supervisor Confirmation

1. Before retrieving ballots that have been counted, the supervisor prepares the Ballot Archive scanner and the boxes that will store the ballots.
2. The supervisor stacks the ballots retrieved from the Counting Teams separated into seven groups:
   1. Verified Ballots marked “Official”
   2. Provisional Ballots marked “Official”
   3. Verified Ballots marked “Conflict”
   4. Provisional Ballots marked “Conflict”
   5. Absentee Ballots marked “Official”
   6. Absentee Ballots marked “Conflict”
   7. All ballots marked “Damaged”
3. The supervisor takes the first ballot from the group containing the Verified Ballots marked “Official,” ensuring that the “Official” sticker is on the ballot.
4. The supervisor scans the ballot, ensuring the Ballot ID is identified. The computer will instantly verify the count by the Counting team.
5. Once the verification signal comes from the computer, the supervisor places the ballot into the Verified ballot box, and presses “OK” on the computer.
6. The supervisor repeats Steps 3 through 5 until he is finished with the group containing the Verified Ballots marked “Official.”
7. Next, the supervisor takes the first ballot from the group containing the Provisional Ballots marked “Official,” ensuring that the “Official” sticker is on the ballot.
8. The supervisor scans the ballot, ensuring the Ballot ID is identified. The computer will instantly verify the count by the Counting team.
9. Once the verification signal comes from the computer, the supervisor places the ballot into the Provisional ballot box, and presses “OK” on the computer.
10. The supervisor repeats Steps 7 through 9 until he is finished with the group containing the Provisional Ballots marked “Official.”
11. Next, the supervisor takes the first ballot from the group containing the Absentee Ballots marked “Official,” ensuring that the “Official” sticker is on the ballot.
12. The supervisor scans the ballot, ensuring the Ballot ID is identified. The computer will instantly verify the count by the Counting team.
13. Once the verification signal comes from the computer, the supervisor places the ballot into the Absentee ballot box, and presses “OK” on the computer.