6 ms·

Voting is very, very decentralized. Votes are conducted at the county level, which is then reported to the state, which then reports to the federal government.

Voting is very, very decentralized. Votes are conducted at the county level, which is then reported to the state, which then reports to the federal government. The laws each state and even county have on how votes are conducted differ, so different methods are often used, and of course, because of the electoral college, the straight count doesn't always matter anyways. So, at least for the Presidential election, there's a lot of reason not to do this. It'd also probably be bad to have the counter increment in a voting place when you submit your ballot, because then you would see how the person in front of you just voted, which we don't want, so people aren't bullied about how they voted. And finally, technology does not actually solve problems: It trades problems we have for new and potentially bigger problems. For instance, if you are reliant on a digital system for counting votes, it is easier to tamper with and harder to verify that tampering has occurred. This is why if you want to be sure your vote actually was counted correctly, you should always vote on a paper ballot if it is offered in your district.

Ahmd72 6y ago
I believe the process is decentralized but not the results which are easily manipulated, every time a election happens anywhere in the world we hear that it was not correctly conducted, cheating happened and so on. Just look at the recent Russian interference everyone is talking about. If we believe in free speech and that everyone has the right to do what they want, why should we be afraid of being bullied about who we voted for? I would say more damage is done by hiding your vote, further I believe this is the real problem and hiding our votes is not the correct solution for it. True, but if I had a counter that increments the minute I vote then atleast I as an individual can know it is correct and it can be easily shown everywhere else too.
- jfk13 6y ago
  > I had a counter that increments the minute I vote then atleast I as an individual can know it is correct Only if you assume nobody else is voting at the same time as you. So that isn't really any use.
  - Ahmd72 6y ago
    There are already queues at the ballot box so I am pretty much the only one voting at that time, same will happen at the other ballot boxes and then the results aggregated.
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  The problem is if you feel like you will be judged for how you vote, it may change how you vote.

Ahmd72 6y ago

I believe the process is decentralized but not the results which are easily manipulated, every time a election happens anywhere in the world we hear that it was not correctly conducted, cheating happened and so on. Just look at the recent Russian interference everyone is talking about. If we believe in free speech and that everyone has the right to do what they want, why should we be afraid of being bullied about who we voted for? I would say more damage is done by hiding your vote, further I believe this is the real problem and hiding our votes is not the correct solution for it. True, but if I had a counter that increments the minute I vote then atleast I as an individual can know it is correct and it can be easily shown everywhere else too.

jfk13 6y ago
> I had a counter that increments the minute I vote then atleast I as an individual can know it is correct Only if you assume nobody else is voting at the same time as you. So that isn't really any use.
- Ahmd72 6y ago
  There are already queues at the ballot box so I am pretty much the only one voting at that time, same will happen at the other ballot boxes and then the results aggregated.
ocdtrekkie 6y ago
The problem is if you feel like you will be judged for how you vote, it may change how you vote.