I have an idea about paper trails

[slide to the left]

Ok, what if, when you voted, you got a receipt that had a random number on it that correlated to you vote, but also had your vote on it (that way you can tell who you voted for). Not you name or anything. And then, while you were on your way out, there was a someone that "sealed" it, like what notaries do. This way, when things don't go as planned, you can prove who you voted for.

This way we would still have a secret ballot, but not only would there be a paper trail at the voting site, you would have proof of who you voted for if you kept your receipt.

[MadMaddie]

1. Actually that' a pretty good idea...

[Old and In the Way]

2. Good idea.

I'd like to see the DNC randomly audit locations where election shenanigans are suspected. Do a thorough survey of people leaving a polling place and get the voters to confirm their vote and attest to it by signed affidavit. Compare those results to the actual results.

Maybe Republicans and some Indies wouldn't be too anxious to share their preferences, but for those who fear that their votes are being electronically stolen, this would help to either confirm the problem or at least assure us that we have more work to do to get people to vote Democrat.

[Wilms]

3. Not too good. That opens the possibility of vote-selling and coercion. n/t

[FogerRox]

4. at 1st glance yes- but Wilms is right

[sean in iowa]

7. Permutation: you get multiple paper ballots, each marked

with the same randomly generated serial number, but you don't keep it. The county election officials get the official copy, the Democratic Party gets one, as do the Republicans, and then a consortium of small parties.

Each of the three non-official bodies can audit the election, and a certain level of discrepancy generates an official recount.

There are some kinks to be worked out, such as how this system would avoid mischievous assertions of discrepancy, but this is worth pursuing. At any rate, the ballot remains truly secret.

[Wilms]

8. THAT sounds VERY interesting.

Welcome, sean. And thanks for posting.

[simonm]

5. Invisible Ink

That is a great idea but rather than depending on a receipt you can use an invisible ink pen to write the digits. The numbers written can be made visible by a small ultraviolet light when auditing.

Elections staff are probably not going to let you track your vote since there are legitimate legal issues. Stealth is the best method if you want to verify that your vote has not been tossed away.

There are a few counties in Ohio I'd love to target. ;)

[Einsteinia]

6. Interesting idea.

Could there be two random numbers?