Re:Ballot Hand Counts Lead to Inaccuracy
by mmastrac on Tuesday August 19, 2025 @09:56AM
(#44951607)
I can't help but wonder if this utter complexity of voting led to many of America's current problems. It's a unique approach with unique problems.
Re:Ballot Hand Counts Lead to Inaccuracy
by the_snooze on Tuesday August 19, 2025 @10:03AM
(#44951693)
It's a contributing factor, but not something to solve. It arises from our multi-layered forms of government, where states are very strong and hold a lot of power to themselves. Some states have ballot initiatives. Some don't. Some states allow for ranked-choice voting for certain offices. Some don't. Some states (like California) love direct democracy and having lots of elected offices that are normally appointees in other places. This is why it's states--not the federal government--that run elections; each state has a different political system that sets the requirements for elections.
The US has indeed largely moved towards "voting machines," but I should be explicit about what this means. These aren't the touchscreen computer-only (direct-recording electronic) machines that were hastily deployed after Bush v Gore. The overwhelming majority of states and municipalities now use some kind of optical-scan paper ballot technology, like scantron forms that are tabulated and kept safe in a box with a scanner bolted onto it. So even if the scanner is broken, there's a reliable record of voter intent.
https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_methods_and_equipment_by_stat...