The transparent election: GPS ballot-tracking and counting on livestream

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

10 hours ago


From GPS tracking devices on boxes carrying ballots to counting centers with 24-hour livestreams and big windows for public viewing, officials nationwide are working to boost transparency — and confidence — in the Nov. 5 election.

Why it matters: The moves — along with pre-election tours and open houses of the counting centers — are among the latest tactics officials are using to try to convince voters that elections are fair and secure.

In this era of pervasive misinformation, the changes are an effort to counter conspiracy theories surrounding the election — even though granting voters more visibility into ballot counting could foster new conspiracy theories.

And there are concerns over whether the efforts to promote transparency could be "weaponized by losing candidates," David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said during a media briefing.

Driving the news: In Pinal County, Ariz., the state's fastest-growing county, the transparency reboot involves a new $32 million, 53,000-square-foot election headquarters that includes a "fishbowl" where members of the public can have a 360-degree view of ballots being processed.

The new facility is partly an effort to restore voter trust after the county's 2022 primary and general elections were marred by errors.

Dana Lewis, the Pinal County recorder, said her team has given tours of the new facility to show the public how the vote counting works.

"They leave reassured," Lewis said during a roundtable hosted by the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions.

Fulton County, Ga., one of several big swing-state counties that could decide the election, moved into a new hub last year with an open floor plan, allowing voters to "come in and observe," said Nadine Williams, director of registration and elections in Fulton.

Georgia was at the center of false claims by former President Trump and his allies that the 2020 election was stolen. (Trump was indicted in Georgia over his efforts to subvert election results there.)

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/10/27/elections-transparency-2024-harris-trump

[Miguelito Loveless]

1. It won't matter to the MAGAloons

They will claim "Mission: Impossible" type hacks took place, and brown men in rubber masks swapped out the ballots.