Interesting commentary on the hand counting. I haven't made much noise about it, but it's been unclear to me WHO was doing the hand counting.
At our local Chicago precinct level (part of a larger ward), there are three numbers I keep a SHARP eye on throughout the election day: The number of applications for ballot (that voters fill out first), the number of processed voters in our e-poll books (where we take the info from the application, and look up whether a voter is eligible to vote at our location), and the number of ballots cast and residing in the sealed ballot box. If those numbers do not line up and you can't account for the discrepancy by factors like your ballot box is short two, due to two voters still filling out their ballot, then you're in for a Bad Day. Something's gone wrong in your process and you better figure it out and have a GOOD answer when an investigator comes along to see what's up. (Investigators will also visit to check those numbers throughout the day.)
At our precinct level, we don't have an explicit requirement to count the ballots as we're packing them up for taking them to the receiving station, but I'll do that for my own peace of mind. (Given early voting and mail-in voting, we're lucky if a third of the eligible voters in the ward show up in-person.) We place the paper ballots (which also include paper print-outs produced by the touchscreen unit) in a sealed bag that all the workers sign before a Republican and Democrat transport them to the local receiving station.
Translated to Chicago elections, it sounds like the new hand-counting requirement would have the folks in our receiving station (if a receiving station translates into a ward, which may or may not be the case) open the sealed bag of ballots we just packed (which is where the conflict with the law comes in) and recounted them to check them against the machine totals. If this is something that had been baked into the election process all along, that doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but the requirement coming so close to the election (likely after a lot of mandatory training has been completed) sounds like a recipe for disaster, as my doppelgänger has indicated.
I doubt that the entire state of Georgia being in a state of election emergency will look all that good to the rest of the nation as well. It'll be interesting to see if there's any meaningful blowback that keeps the #MAGA folks from attempting to do this elsewhere in the future.
I'm more concerned with the up-front process of voter identity and ensuring ballots are legally cast by registered voters (not purchased for $4 each at the homeless and addiction centers, for instance). I feel that ballots are generally counted correctly once they are cast. What you describe is what conscientious poll workers should do and is commendable.
Georgia's vote counts are submitted to the state by county officials. Georgia has 159 counties most of which would have populations only a fraction of what I imagine is that of a Chicago ward. Many of the tiny counties have only one polling station which should simplify things. I think hand counting is generally a waste of time and money unless discrepancies are apparent. But I do not expect excessive delays except from the usual suspects - primarily Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties.
Remember the two Fulton County poll workers who, from all accounts and evidence, did their job, and ended up not only on the evening news, but also as the target of death threats. Of course, winning a $148 million lawsuit can make that easier. But I doubt they'll ever see a penny because they have to collect from Rudy Guiliani.
Interesting commentary on the hand counting. I haven't made much noise about it, but it's been unclear to me WHO was doing the hand counting.
At our local Chicago precinct level (part of a larger ward), there are three numbers I keep a SHARP eye on throughout the election day: The number of applications for ballot (that voters fill out first), the number of processed voters in our e-poll books (where we take the info from the application, and look up whether a voter is eligible to vote at our location), and the number of ballots cast and residing in the sealed ballot box. If those numbers do not line up and you can't account for the discrepancy by factors like your ballot box is short two, due to two voters still filling out their ballot, then you're in for a Bad Day. Something's gone wrong in your process and you better figure it out and have a GOOD answer when an investigator comes along to see what's up. (Investigators will also visit to check those numbers throughout the day.)
At our precinct level, we don't have an explicit requirement to count the ballots as we're packing them up for taking them to the receiving station, but I'll do that for my own peace of mind. (Given early voting and mail-in voting, we're lucky if a third of the eligible voters in the ward show up in-person.) We place the paper ballots (which also include paper print-outs produced by the touchscreen unit) in a sealed bag that all the workers sign before a Republican and Democrat transport them to the local receiving station.
Translated to Chicago elections, it sounds like the new hand-counting requirement would have the folks in our receiving station (if a receiving station translates into a ward, which may or may not be the case) open the sealed bag of ballots we just packed (which is where the conflict with the law comes in) and recounted them to check them against the machine totals. If this is something that had been baked into the election process all along, that doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but the requirement coming so close to the election (likely after a lot of mandatory training has been completed) sounds like a recipe for disaster, as my doppelgänger has indicated.
I doubt that the entire state of Georgia being in a state of election emergency will look all that good to the rest of the nation as well. It'll be interesting to see if there's any meaningful blowback that keeps the #MAGA folks from attempting to do this elsewhere in the future.
I'm more concerned with the up-front process of voter identity and ensuring ballots are legally cast by registered voters (not purchased for $4 each at the homeless and addiction centers, for instance). I feel that ballots are generally counted correctly once they are cast. What you describe is what conscientious poll workers should do and is commendable.
Georgia's vote counts are submitted to the state by county officials. Georgia has 159 counties most of which would have populations only a fraction of what I imagine is that of a Chicago ward. Many of the tiny counties have only one polling station which should simplify things. I think hand counting is generally a waste of time and money unless discrepancies are apparent. But I do not expect excessive delays except from the usual suspects - primarily Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties.
"What you describe is what conscientious poll workers should do and is commendable."
It's more selfish than that - I just don't want to be on the evening news. :-)
Remember the two Fulton County poll workers who, from all accounts and evidence, did their job, and ended up not only on the evening news, but also as the target of death threats. Of course, winning a $148 million lawsuit can make that easier. But I doubt they'll ever see a penny because they have to collect from Rudy Guiliani.
Whatever the reason, good work is always appreciated. I get the feeling you would really enjoy being on the evening news, but only in a good light.
Thanks Steve