recount

[snacker]

My mother works for elections and I was discussing a recount with her this morning. She said she doesn't understand how numbers/totals could change here. Voter count and ballot count must match at the end of the evening before votes are counted here (small county here). The ballots are then taken to county court house where ballots are fed into machine and counted. Any thoughts on how totals could change? I'm thinking this method of counting ballots is probably the most basic, but don't really see too much room for error here. I could see some miscalculations with write-ins perhaps, but a machine, I'm assuming, wouldn't count a vote that wasn't clearly marked. Thoughts?

[GillesDeleuze]

1. A few things

1. If a recount happens, it will only benefit Kloppenburg. Weird things can happen to ballots, especially in urban areas where quantities are much higher.
2. The recount, in the first stage, would still be optical scan. The numbers wont change much, but there is a margin of error, and we are talking that # of votes.
3. Even though a recount wont change much, voter eligibility challenges and individual ballot challenges could happen. Think of the Al Franken/Norm Coleman mess.

[murielm99]

2. I don't get it, either.

I have had to observe elections and ballot counting using these same types of machines here in Illinois. The only way I can see a change is if some ballots would not feed into the machine for some reason. If the scanner kept rejecting the ballot, no matter how it was inserted, it could change the total. In those cases, the county clerk looks at the ballot to see if voter intent can be determined. If so, it is hand counted. There are observers from both parties.

Your mother is right. There is not that much room for error. But this should be done carefully. No matter how long it takes, it has to be accurate. For all I know, there is a way to steal this thing.

I am pretty sure that your Government Accountability Board has oversight of the machines to make sure they are not tampered with. And, unless someone steals them, there is a paper record that can be hand counted. Those ballots are fed into a machine for the tally.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for you. They have been too quiet. Just like naughty children, that means they are up to something. And whatever they are up to does not have any of the innocence of childhood.