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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGOP push for hand-counting paper ballots is latest effort to cast doubt on elections
After more than a year of baselessly questioning the results of the 2020 election, some Republicans are casting doubt on how ballots are counted, part of a broader movement inspired by former President Donald Trump's lies about election fraud that is undermining confidence in America's vote.
In at least three states -- Utah, New Hampshire and Texas -- Republicans have pushed for banning traditional ballot scanning machines in favor of hand-counting paper ballots, an antiquated process that experts fear could inject error into an election system where very little has been found. Critics also worry that the inevitable delay in results from hand counting would be an opportunity for those looking to sow doubt about the outcome of future contests.
Republicans have already seized on Trump's unfounded claims to launch partisan audits and enact restrictive voting laws ahead of this year's midterms. And now they're targeting the tabulation of votes by suggesting, without evidence, that there's a problem -- even in places where Trump or down-ballot Republicans won in 2020.
One GOP county chair in Texas, for example, said he has "concerns" about the election, even though Trump won the Lone Star State by more than 630,000 votes, and there's no evidence that fraud or irregularities influenced results there or anywhere else.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-push-for-hand-counting-paper-ballots-is-latest-effort-to-cast-doubt-on-elections/ar-AASCGDh
Make sure you check for bamboo while you're at it.
CrispyQ
(36,509 posts)so she can be counted as a democratic election judge. Expect more of these kinds of underhanded moves to suppress the majority.
Also, are they going to hand count every position? Every issue? Do they have a fucking clue how long that will take? We had a four page ballot a few years ago.
My state has vote by mail so we have paper ballots that are scanned. They pull X percent of ballots & do some kind of verification to the computer results. It's all spelled out on the SOS site. Very transparent. CO has a gold standard voting process.
questionseverything
(9,658 posts)And even if recounted would only be re scanned
Thats a trust me method, trusting the scanner maker, the guy that programs the scanners
Colorado is good because it has all paper ballots but if scanners are used they should have open source software not proprietary and getting a hand count should be fairly easy and inexpensive
Mad_Machine76
(24,437 posts)Now they're in for hand-counted ballots when for years they demanded the machines?
LaMouffette
(2,039 posts)will make it easier for them to throw out ballots cast for Democratic candidates.
crickets
(25,983 posts)TheRealNorth
(9,500 posts)That I didn't get an "A" in. Because obviously the fix was in.
questionseverything
(9,658 posts)At least the top two federal elections should be hand counted
Georgia had paperless machines for many, many years and the republicans always won
Stacey abrams and others worked for and got a new machine required that produces a paper ballot and democrats won
Imagine if democrats had all the sudden won those senate races but there was no paper to count
Btw when Georgia did their hand counts the numbers did change, trump picked up some votes, not nearly enough to change the results but there is nothing wrong with having paper to count
Gore1FL
(21,151 posts)questionseverything
(9,658 posts)There were 175,000 overvotes the machines didnt count, these were 2/3 for gore, the oval by his name was punched but his name was also written in at the write in line
This happened mostly in black neighborhoods, probably because people were trying to make their choice clear but to the machine it spoiled the ballot
Of course the intent was clear and hand counting would of determined the correct winner, al gore, which is why the repubs were so desperate to stop the counting