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We hand count in Canada and don't have a notable accuracy problem, and ballot security is a rare concern. We manage that by having simple ballots which make vot

We hand count in Canada and don't have a notable accuracy problem, and ballot security is a rare concern. We manage that by having simple ballots which make voter intent clear while having the count being run by an independent, non-partisan national organization _and_ each table where tabulating is occurring can be watched over by representatives of the parties running. _And_ we have mail-in ballots. When issues do arise it tends to occur when a ballot box needs to be transported between locations; when this occurs it is taken quite seriously by Elections Canada. It works great. Perhaps the USA should contact Elections Canada and learn a thing or two.

ronbenton 1y ago
> and ballot security is a rare concern Only because fearmongering about election fraud isn’t a top priority of a major political party. That’s all we have going on in the USA - one party’s head has constantly baselessly called into question the accuracy of election results and so now it’s big news.
- dleslie 1y ago
  In the most recent election there were efforts to convince Canadians that fraud was occurring. https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/misleading-fraud-claims-threaten-trust-in-canadas-election/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/mislead... https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.44PT663 https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.44PT663
philips 1y ago
How many positions and measures do you vote on in your ballots? In my US County I vote on 20+ ballot measures and positions most elections. Very few other countries have the ballot complexity and sheer number of votable items like the US.
- dleslie 1y ago
  We separate election of candidates from policy referendums. Typically ballots only have a handful of names on them; municipal ballots tend to have more due to the size of council. Occasionally there's a great many, due to efforts like the Longest Ballot Committee, and Elections Canada makes the ballot a write-in instead of multiple choice.
- nucleardog 1y ago
  Agreed. With _what_ Americans are electing, the number of additional policy questions, etc, I can see how hand counting could be a lot more difficult than elsewhere. However my question would be more one of... why do that then? Are voters actually able to make a conscious, informed decision on the governor, state rep, coroner, judge, board of equalization member, insurance commissioner, etc? Or are they looking at the governor and _maybe_ state rep and just voting R/D down the ballot? In that case, at _best_ a candidate can influence who people vote for mostly based on how much money they can spend on advertising, memorable sound bites, and advocating to change things that may not need changing. Maybe we don't need a bazillion ads telling us how "tough on crime" the judge will be in a country with almost 5x the rate of incarceration as China? Maybe Arizona would have an easier time counting elections if people didn't need to vote for the State Mine Inspector? It varies by province, but in Canada generally the judges are selected by having an arms-length committee of some lay people, a couple judges and a couple lawyers select a few possible candidates from people who meet some reasonable qualifications, and the minister of justice picks from the list and has it confirmed by the current government.
- yencabulator 1y ago
  They did say > We manage that by having simple ballots which make voter intent clear

ronbenton 1y ago

> and ballot security is a rare concern Only because fearmongering about election fraud isn’t a top priority of a major political party. That’s all we have going on in the USA - one party’s head has constantly baselessly called into question the accuracy of election results and so now it’s big news.

dleslie 1y ago
In the most recent election there were efforts to convince Canadians that fraud was occurring. https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/misleading-fraud-claims-threaten-trust-in-canadas-election/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/mislead... https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.44PT663 https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.44PT663

philips 1y ago

How many positions and measures do you vote on in your ballots? In my US County I vote on 20+ ballot measures and positions most elections. Very few other countries have the ballot complexity and sheer number of votable items like the US.

dleslie 1y ago
We separate election of candidates from policy referendums. Typically ballots only have a handful of names on them; municipal ballots tend to have more due to the size of council. Occasionally there's a great many, due to efforts like the Longest Ballot Committee, and Elections Canada makes the ballot a write-in instead of multiple choice.
nucleardog 1y ago
Agreed. With _what_ Americans are electing, the number of additional policy questions, etc, I can see how hand counting could be a lot more difficult than elsewhere. However my question would be more one of... why do that then? Are voters actually able to make a conscious, informed decision on the governor, state rep, coroner, judge, board of equalization member, insurance commissioner, etc? Or are they looking at the governor and _maybe_ state rep and just voting R/D down the ballot? In that case, at _best_ a candidate can influence who people vote for mostly based on how much money they can spend on advertising, memorable sound bites, and advocating to change things that may not need changing. Maybe we don't need a bazillion ads telling us how "tough on crime" the judge will be in a country with almost 5x the rate of incarceration as China? Maybe Arizona would have an easier time counting elections if people didn't need to vote for the State Mine Inspector? It varies by province, but in Canada generally the judges are selected by having an arms-length committee of some lay people, a couple judges and a couple lawyers select a few possible candidates from people who meet some reasonable qualifications, and the minister of justice picks from the list and has it confirmed by the current government.
yencabulator 1y ago
They did say > We manage that by having simple ballots which make voter intent clear