Post-Election Audits

Were 2006 Election Audits “Good News”?

By George Barnett on August 29, 2007

If the auditors were employed by or under the control of the SOS[Secretary of the state], such factors might include the perception that â€œgood newsâ€ should be the primary object in the audit report. (emboldening added) – Candice Hoke, Testimony to U.S. House, March 20, 2007 We have very good news to report today, because […]

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Statistics Can Help Ensure Accurate Elections

By Luther Weeks on August 24, 2007

The American Statistical Association’s Science and Public Affairs Advisory Committee has recommended that post election audits have at least a 90% level of confidence. Election officials need to make sure the person elected winner is the person the most voters want..Election results are most trustworthy when the entire election process can be audited, not just […]

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Brennan Center: The Machinery Of Democracy

By Luther Weeks on August 21, 2007

On August 1st the Brannan Center released a report Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections which has been covered on CTVotersCount.org. Today we will look at the security portion of an earlier report The Machinery Of Democracy: Accessibility, Usability, and Cost and its implications for Connecticut. The tone of the report is serious. The conclusions […]

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EVT07 Electronic Voting Technology Workshop

By Luther Weeks on August 7, 2007

Yesterday was the USENIX/ACCURATE Electronic Voting Technology Workshop held in Boston. Today I will give some overall impressions and highlight just one of the relevant papers. UPDATE: Avi Rubin blogs on session with Debra Bowen (inappropriate certification processes for electonic voting) For me it was a highly educational and engaging day. My experience at conferences […]

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Brennan Audit Report and Connecticut – a Discussion

By Luther Weeks on August 5, 2007

On August 1st, The Brennan Center for Justice released: Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections. The entire report is quite readable without requiring knowledge of statistics, voting laws, or computers. I recommend it as a compurehensive introduction to the issues of auditing elections. This post will discuss the report’s relation to and implications for Connecticut’s […]

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Likely that state’s largest election will go unaudited

By Luther Weeks on August 2, 2007

The Norwich Bulletin reports concern in Plainfield because the ballot for a charter revision may reach three pages. No mention in the article that the state’s new audit law does not provide for random audits of ballot questions. Apparently huge concern in Norwich over cost of ballots, yet they have likely spent thousands on developing […]

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An hour with the Secretary of the State

By Luther Weeks on August 1, 2007

Susan Bysiewicz live blogged tonight on MyLeftNutmeg. MLMBlog I asked two questions and got two answers, both of which were disappointing in different ways. But 1st let me say that I endevored to ask reasonable questions and make reasonable comments. There were two bloggers there that asked very confrontational, long, and sometimes insulting questions. I […]

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VerifiedVoting.org, Percentage-based vs. SAFE Vote Tabulation Auditing: A Graphic Comparison

By Luther Weeks on July 31, 2007

This is a complete case for variable audit percentages. â€œSeveral pending electoral-integrity bills specify hand audits of 2% to 10% of all precincts. However, percentage-based audits are usually inefficient… Percentage based audits can also be ineffective, since close races may require auditing a large fraction of the total â€“even a 100% hand recount â€“ to […]