Clear Box Voting System 1.0

As we all grow weary of the U.S. elections fiascoes over the last four years, courtesy of Ohio and Florida partisan Secretaries of States, I unveil your 2004 Christmas present. It is the brand new Clear Box Voting System, nice and boring (may need some egg nog):

1) Everyone gets a Voter ID number. Your social security card or your drivers license is your Voter ID card. Ok, so you already have your Voter ID card ... let’s vote.

2) It’s Election Day. You walk into a school auditorium, college classroom, church, indoor sports arena, or current polling place, and notice a large clear acrylic box in center of room. You also notice a standalone video camera 20 feet away.

3) You approach the familiar registrar and present your Voter ID card with correct address. You may make address correction there if you have a bill from correct address; you go to the SLOW Line.

4) Everyone receives a serialized standard blank ballot form (distributed in order) with a detachable matching serial number tag at the bottom. You initial both.

5) If you are the first voter of the day you receive a certificate saying you are first voter. Your serialized ballot MUST say "00001" and includes explicit precinct number pre-printed. This number is the zip plus four number for that address.

6) You complete your name, birth date, voter ID number, "m" for machine, "p" for paper, and sign the log book next to numbered line matching the serialized ballot number.

7) You choose between a paper menu (p) or touch screen machine (m) that will be your way of viewing voting choices.

8) If you are in the wrong precinct, you MUST go to correct precinct, sorry. Since voting will take 15 minutes at all precincts that should be a motivator. All touch screens in a given county have the exact same powerpoint program. The voter, registrar, or voting official merely enters their three digit precinct number to display correct ballot. After that, the voter hits NEXT or PREVIOUS to see next page. On Last page, just click done. It will default to this ballot for next voter. All other ballots can be locked out.

9) All voters designate choices by marking the paper ballot (op scan sheet). Your vote will be scanned by the same machine all at the same time.

10) Voting occurs at desk or stands at kiosk or uses clipboard and uses a #2 pencil to fill in bubbles on op scan ballot. Could use school auditorium, college classrooms, church pews, indoor sports arenas. Machines are at the kiosks. No more waiting a long time since voters will always have option of paper menus. Since this requires space and not a machine should be able to vote in less than 15 minutes tops.

11) Voter reads choices from the screen or paper menu. Each race is numbered. Voter completes bubble for each race. Just like the SATs. There should never be more the 10 choices. If more than 10 choices (that is max per race line), like in California’s Governor race, then voter must leave related group blank. Failure results in vote for this race nullified. Ballot still good for other races. May have more than one bubble selected on some races.

12) When done marking op scan ballot, voter removes, by tearing perforation, and keeps claim tag with pre-printed serial number and precinct number. Op scan ballot is deposited into clear acrylic lock box in the correct orientation. Your vote will be scanned by the same machine at the same time as the others later that night.

13) Video camera records transaction. Use two 6 hour tapes should cover whole day. Only interruption in in tape should be when changing tapes. The display time of day MUST be visible on these tapes.

14) When polls close, registrars log last serial numbered ballot and last voter receives a certificate saying they are the last voter. Bi-partisan registrars sign and date the line right below Last Voter. Total number of voters are immediately posted on public window.

15) In continuous view of video camera, the first of two op scan machines are wheeled over to the acrylic box based on random selection procedure. There are two op scan machines available for back-up also selected randomly if needed.

16) Tabulation is performed immediately after the polls close and is open to public as long as safe building occupancy rules are followed and 50/50 of each party. May need to reduce numbers of one party. Two bi-partsan officials (or more as long as there is an equal number of both) on 4 Op-Scanners connectable to printers.

17) The Registrar #1, chosen by a coin flip, picks the Op-Scanner of their choice (they are numbered), then the other Registrar will pick from the remaining 3.

18) Registrar #1 places ALL of the ballots (removed from the Clear Box in view of camera) into the selected op scanner. The op scan sheets will run whether the perforated tags have been removed or not. Officials may remove claim tags. This is because they go in top-first.

19) After all ballots are run (will take fifteen minutes per 1000), the labelled memory card is removed and two copies of the results are printed immediately. The print outs look like the paper menus with results right next to candidate listings.

20) Registrar #2 now places ALL of the ballots into their selected op scanner (different from first); after all ballots are run, the memory card is removed and two copies of the results are printed immediately.

21) Results are compared for all races between Registrar #1’s print out and Registrar #2’s print out. If they match, one copy is immediately posted on interior window or polling place visible after hours.

22) If results do not come within 10 votes for every race, then Repeat and Re-Rerun using the opposite’s machine. The other two op scanners are backups for failures.

23) Must re-run all night till midnight until they come within 10 votes.

24) Multiple runs are averaged (add and then divide by 2, 3, 4, number of runs) and results are manually tallied on two sheets and posted.

25) Whether successful tabulation occurs or catastrophic machine failures, all ballots go back into locked clear acrylic box at midnight and both Registrars, or their designates, load the labelled box, memory cards, un removed claim tags, and videotapes, all clearly showing precinct # (zip plus four), into one car and drive to county elections office for drop off to receiving official.

26) Boxes are paired with their out-of-precinct brothers and both receive certification or are re-run at elections office by 3:00 AM in front of bi-partisan officials.

27) All precinct results are posted visibly at elections office and then entered into internet database for world wide viewing.

28) Revised results are driven and posted back at problem precincts, cleared stating "revised." The first print outs are NOT to be removed. Post explanation for changes. Include out-of-precinct numbers on posting.

29) "Provisional" ballots are never separated from other ballots. Once they receive a ballot they are no longer provisional. They should no longer be discarded or ignored for any reason. They are continuously re-run with others. Problems are ignored by op-scanner. This fair since it penalizes both parties equally. Number of errors should be tracked and posted.

30) Mail-in absentee balloting is called out-of-precinct voting and is performed on special serialized ballots that are requested by phone and mailed to county elections office. Identifying info will be requested including a PIN number. There is one acrylic box per district for this out-of-precinct at the elections office. They tabulate all of these on election night in front of bi-partisan witnesses. There will never be more than two acrylic boxes per precinct (one for in-precinct and one out-of-precinct at main elections office). Military, overseas, and invalids (with approved handicapped designation) may vote absentee vote and their votes must be dropped in or received in the out-of-precinct box by that night. Their ballots have special serial numbers and their passport numbers.

31) If early voting is allowed, then repeat above procedure every day during early voting time period (one week?).

32) Central spreadsheets MUST always keep in-precinct and out-of-precinct tabulations separate as a separate line item, with total clearly showing. There are no other numbers.

See, nice and boring and confidence-inspiring. A bit of a mix of machine and paper methods.

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." http://www.link4u.com/pledge.htm

Let’s preserve "Justice for All" as well as "Under God." Make whatever changes to above procedure that accomplishes justice and makes God smile.

No Vote, No Justice, No Peace. No God.

I, for one, believe all four are knowable: VOTING, JUSTICE, PEACE, GOD.

Merry Christmas.

Robin Baneth, M.S., M.A.
rbaneth@mindspring.com
919-828-3534