Protecting The Vote

Someone asked me if I were going to hold an election, how would I go about making sure it was fair and open?  I thought the problem over and took the article 'Who Would Have More Votes?' and the video in the article 'A Beacon Of Light:  Take Back America' into consideration. I came up with the following procedure and voting necessities. I am sure I have forgotten things. Please, feel free to leave suggestions that you feel I missed in the comments area.

Voting Process Checks and Balances:

Voter Registration
Residency
Registration Identification
Voter Verification
Ballots
Absentee Voting
Ballot Boxes
Counting Room
Counting:  Electronic Voting Machines
Vote Results Recording & Reporting

Voter Registration:

The problem:  Voter registration has no valid check for residency.

Voter registration is simple and registration forms are available at many locations, such as public libraries, public assistance offices, state motor vehicle offices, and US post offices. US Citizens should demand verification of all registrations and that all of the information must be made available to the proper State and County Election Officials. All registration information shall be public information. This is necessary to avoid multiple state registrations and registration of deceased citizens from inclusion in the voting process as mentioned in an earlier article 'Who Would Have More Votes?'

Residency and Identification:

The problem:  Voter Residency and Identification is lax or does not exist in many parts of the country.

US Citizens must be permanent full-time residents in the state in which they cast their vote, and no other State. (see absentee Voting method)

Your State DMV may provide a State Drivers License or state non-drivers  photo identification with your place of residence. Other forms of Identification may be provided by appropriate sources.

1. State Drivers license
   (supplies all required information if valid)

2. State Resident Identification card
   (supplies all required information if valid)

3. Military Identification (For Identification only)

4. US Passport (least preferable)
   (no current residency information requirement for voting)

5. Long Form Birth Certificate (not certificate of live birth) (least preferable) (no current residency requirement for voting)

Voter Verification:

The Problem:  there is essentially no Verification Standard

Polling personnel must be responsible for properly verifying the identity of a voter

Polling personnel can very easily verify the proper identity of US Citizens wishing to vote, if the registration process above has been implemented, if presented with authentic photo identification.

On election day, when people go to a local polling place to cast their ballot, a method of identification to insure that a voter is truly who they say they are and verification against voter street lists or voter rolls are eligible to vote.

Ballots:

Ballots must be paper and easy to read (see) without confusing the voter.



It must be mandatory that the election board(s) be totally accountable for the protection of the ballots to insure the voting process and the rights of the voter.

Absentee balloting:

Absentee voter information is not covered at this time.

Ballot Boxes:

All ballot boxes must be clear, (transparent). The boxes shall have one entrance slot that is accessible to the voter and the top side open-able with the hinge farthest away from the voter. The boxes are to be kept locked from the time they are placed until the time they are collected for counting. A guard must be kept in the area of the ballot box at all times. Each box shall have a unique serial number by which it is identified by the State election board. Those numbers will not be known to anyone outside the State's election security department, who will maintain a list of those numbers and to which precinct each box was sent. Keys to boxes will be held by each State's election security department, and precinct election security guard, One key each and one backup key held by the State's election security department.



Counting Room:

Each polling place needs a counting room that is completely transparent with one entrance and exit door and multiple ventilation holes 1/4 inch in diameter in floor and ceiling.  Once the ballot boxes and persons designated as counters are inside, it will be locked and remain locked at all times until counting is complete. Counters can enter or exit, but they will not be permitted inside the counting room with anything nor will they be permitted to exit with anything.

A 4-point video and recording system pointing in shall be installed within the counting room, but shall not be accessible to anyone inside the counting room . The room itself is transparent, as are tables and chairs and these shall be in full view of anyone wishing to view during the counting process. In fact, the entire tabulating procedure must exhibit full disclosure at all times.



Recording and Reporting:

It shall be mandatory that polling totals are announced, posted, and reported.

After all the ballots are tabulated and verified, the totals are recorded and announced. The printed ballot tally is placed up on the inside of the counting room with the totals facing out for all to witness. This will be done at each precinct or place of voting until all the precincts have been recorded and reported.

Once all of the local precincts have recorded and reported the results to the county board of elections, they will seal the ballots back into the clear ballot box(es) and those boxes will be locked by an officer of the county such as a deputy sheriff, and those locked ballot boxes will be taken to the county board of elections designated verification and review location and all ballots kept for four years and available for public inspection with a County or State Board of Elections guard in attendance.

After the county has obtained all the serial numbered ballot boxes assigned, they will then transport all of the ballot boxes to the Sate Board of Elections where another public count will be taken. That count will be matched with the original local count and if there are no discrepancies it will then become the final official result.