Telling you the ballot has been counted isn’t the same as counting it, counting it correctly, or protecting the count from tampering. Paper ballots and the pos

Telling you the ballot has been counted isn’t the same as counting it, counting it correctly, or protecting the count from tampering. Paper ballots and the possibility of a recount decreases the tampering incentive only if there’s sufficient reason to expect a recount. Given the rarity of recounts, that doesn’t seem to me like much of a deterrent. ETA: re mail-in ballots and the USPS, that’s an incentive to vote in person if you can. It’s a legit concern for those for whom voting in person is problematic. I’m personally far more worried about the integrity of the count — and frankly, whether we’ll get to vote in a “free and fair” election at all. After all, even Russia still has “elections”.