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My jurisdiction in Canada uses an OCR machine on a paper ballot. The paper ballot is the official record and recounts are done by hand. Seems to be the obvio

My jurisdiction in Canada uses an OCR machine on a paper ballot. The paper ballot is the official record and recounts are done by hand. Seems to be the obvious way to do things.

whimsicalism 1y ago
pretty sure this is how it is typically done in the US and pretty sure Canada even uses these same machines mostly
- echelon 1y ago
  Some states are really behind. Several states use Scantron, and a few jurisdictions (IIRC) still use punch ballot. The state of Georgia uses these modern "digitally select, then print a ballot with QR code and legible names" ballots. They're great and feel optimal.
  - Ancapistani 1y ago
    I'm not comfortable without having a physical "receipt" that shows my vote that I can take with me. I understand why we don't do that - it would enable people to pay for votes with confidence, or to influence the votes of others via intimidation - but it would certainly make me feel better.
    - echelon 1y ago
      You don't take it with you. It's your ballot, and you submit it into a lock box when you're done. One A4-sized piece of paper with your legibly printed choices and a QR code is your ballot. When they count your vote later, they have a high-speed system that can scan all the QR codes almost instantly. It's why we know the results in as little as an hour. If there are any questions, or if the race is tight, a team of auditors can look at the ballot pages to check for any discrepancies. They'll check to make sure the machines themselves weren't tampered with by checking that the printed names and other ballot initiatives match the QR codes.
      - cudgy 1y ago
        All elections should be audited regardless of how close the race is or whether there are any questions. Relying on software to count is an obvious vector for manipulation. Given that. Voting machines provide little benefit and more risk.
- philistine 1y ago
  Canada does not use those machines. I challenge you to find a Canadian election that used machines of any kind.
Waterluvian 1y ago
It can vary but it’s usually even lower tech. Federal elections are all counted by hand and do not use OCR. I’m not actually sure most provinces use OCR either. It would be the exception, if it’s used at all. When I worked at Elections Ontario it was not OCR. I think the main thing is that we have one federal, one provincial, and one municipal election per 4ish years (give or take…). And these are generally voting for one race. American elections can have dozens of different races/questions. This causes them to depend on technology to count, as a full hand count is too impractical for that many different votes.

My jurisdiction in Canada uses an OCR machine on a paper ballot. The paper ballot is the official record and recounts are done by hand. Seems to be the obvious way to do things.

whimsicalism 1y ago

pretty sure this is how it is typically done in the US and pretty sure Canada even uses these same machines mostly

echelon 1y ago
Some states are really behind. Several states use Scantron, and a few jurisdictions (IIRC) still use punch ballot. The state of Georgia uses these modern "digitally select, then print a ballot with QR code and legible names" ballots. They're great and feel optimal.
- Ancapistani 1y ago
  I'm not comfortable without having a physical "receipt" that shows my vote that I can take with me. I understand why we don't do that - it would enable people to pay for votes with confidence, or to influence the votes of others via intimidation - but it would certainly make me feel better.
  - echelon 1y ago
    You don't take it with you. It's your ballot, and you submit it into a lock box when you're done. One A4-sized piece of paper with your legibly printed choices and a QR code is your ballot. When they count your vote later, they have a high-speed system that can scan all the QR codes almost instantly. It's why we know the results in as little as an hour. If there are any questions, or if the race is tight, a team of auditors can look at the ballot pages to check for any discrepancies. They'll check to make sure the machines themselves weren't tampered with by checking that the printed names and other ballot initiatives match the QR codes.
    - cudgy 1y ago
      All elections should be audited regardless of how close the race is or whether there are any questions. Relying on software to count is an obvious vector for manipulation. Given that. Voting machines provide little benefit and more risk.
philistine 1y ago
Canada does not use those machines. I challenge you to find a Canadian election that used machines of any kind.

Waterluvian 1y ago

It can vary but it’s usually even lower tech. Federal elections are all counted by hand and do not use OCR. I’m not actually sure most provinces use OCR either. It would be the exception, if it’s used at all. When I worked at Elections Ontario it was not OCR. I think the main thing is that we have one federal, one provincial, and one municipal election per 4ish years (give or take…). And these are generally voting for one race. American elections can have dozens of different races/questions. This causes them to depend on technology to count, as a full hand count is too impractical for that many different votes.