NASS surveys on post election audits,...

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Author Message   christine c reid Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant Username: Ctwatcher Post Number: 171 Registered: 12-2007 Best of Black Box? N/A Votes: 0 (A keeper?) Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 10:39 am:        NASS spreadsheets on two topics of interest: which states do post election audits and where cast ballots are part of public record and where not -- which could be important if you want to be able to look at what happened in an election, or understand how your state stacks up against others. It's not just access to the ballots that one needs to keep an eye on -- for what kind of retention periods must the ballots be stored before destruction? http://nass.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=217 Since we've been following NH lately, I took note that candidates cannot access cast ballots in NH other than in a recount and otherwise, without a court order (citizens might be able to go to court; not clear on whether who may bring the request is restricted). The accessibility of ballots as part of the public record is part of what makes it possible for citizens to examine whether or not elections are properly counted -- AND, conversely, fromt the standpoint of someone who wishes to commit fraud, lack of access to ballots as part of public record helps ensure that the window for detecting ballot problems is very narrow and constrained either to recounts and/or court order. The second piece of important information is that the amount of time ballots must be retained may vary depending on whether it's a federal or local election. Both documents are part of understanding the overall election "lay of the land". They make interesting starting points if you are trying to compare your state to others, or look for ideas on how to improve laws/regulations/procedures in your area. NASS stands for National Association of Secretaries of State. Caution: I believe the representation of the audit for the state of CT may not be fully accurate, so again, I suggest using this as a broadbrush starting point rather than definitive data. I'd reconfirm the data before quoting it as authoritative. (Message edited by ctwatcher on February 12, 2008)

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The public must be able to see and authenticate these four essential steps for an election to be public, democratic, and valid: (1) Who can vote (voter list); (2) Who did vote (3) The original count; (4) Chain of custody.