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One of the cool things about how Canada conducts its elections is that it's still hand-counted paper ballots. Other levels of government sometimes use machines

by beloch 1y ago

One of the cool things about how Canada conducts its elections is that it's still hand-counted paper ballots. Other levels of government sometimes use machines to lower costs, but federal elections remain old-school. Votes are physical objects that can be counted and re-counted as needed, reducing the risk of fraud. The count is still done quickly, with a government declared before the day is done. At the time of writing, only a few seats remain up in the air.

nobodywillobsrv 1y ago
This is true. I would love to read more about the mechanics of the vote count ... it could do a lot perhaps to reduce the anger over discussions of vote counting in that other country ... one of the things Canada gets right.
- bloppe 1y ago
  That other country also has paper ballots. A bunch of people decided to count the ones in Arizona by hand after 2020. They found that the machines were accurate. The only reason people got angry was because one candidate decided to be the sorest loser of all time. I don't see how counting by hand would have made a difference. It was never about facts.
- dpc050505 1y ago
  It's basically old school double entry book keeping, except you've got ballots and votes cast instead of inventory and $. You start with empty ballots and the electoral list. You record every ballot that's used (or damaged) and every voter that shows up and casts a vote. You end up with a paper trail of everything that happened as well as every ballot. Every bit of the process is done by two employees+a polling station supervisor+party representatives (volunteers) making sure everything is done by the book. Everything should balance if there hasn't been fraud or mistakes. Counted ballots go in respective envelopes (for box 57 you'll have a liberal party, conservative party, green party, npd, invalid ballot, etc. envelop) allowing for swift recounting and making sure valid ballots for the right party are in every envelop.
gassi 1y ago
I got the watch this happen in real time while scrutineering at one of the polling stations. It game me a lot more confidence on the safety of our elections, which is a blessing in this day and age.
foxandmouse 1y ago
Elections Canada is simply amazing! Funny story from last night: the Conservative leader’s own riding had the longest ballot in Canadian history — 90 candidates! Even though it was one of the earlier ridings to close, the results weren’t confirmed until this morning. I’m guessing the sheer size of the ballot had something to do with the delay.

by beloch 1y ago

nobodywillobsrv 1y ago

This is true. I would love to read more about the mechanics of the vote count ... it could do a lot perhaps to reduce the anger over discussions of vote counting in that other country ... one of the things Canada gets right.

bloppe 1y ago
That other country also has paper ballots. A bunch of people decided to count the ones in Arizona by hand after 2020. They found that the machines were accurate. The only reason people got angry was because one candidate decided to be the sorest loser of all time. I don't see how counting by hand would have made a difference. It was never about facts.
dpc050505 1y ago
It's basically old school double entry book keeping, except you've got ballots and votes cast instead of inventory and $. You start with empty ballots and the electoral list. You record every ballot that's used (or damaged) and every voter that shows up and casts a vote. You end up with a paper trail of everything that happened as well as every ballot. Every bit of the process is done by two employees+a polling station supervisor+party representatives (volunteers) making sure everything is done by the book. Everything should balance if there hasn't been fraud or mistakes. Counted ballots go in respective envelopes (for box 57 you'll have a liberal party, conservative party, green party, npd, invalid ballot, etc. envelop) allowing for swift recounting and making sure valid ballots for the right party are in every envelop.

gassi 1y ago

I got the watch this happen in real time while scrutineering at one of the polling stations. It game me a lot more confidence on the safety of our elections, which is a blessing in this day and age.

foxandmouse 1y ago

Elections Canada is simply amazing! Funny story from last night: the Conservative leader’s own riding had the longest ballot in Canadian history — 90 candidates! Even though it was one of the earlier ridings to close, the results weren’t confirmed until this morning. I’m guessing the sheer size of the ballot had something to do with the delay.