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How SICK is it that I can get text confirmation (Original Post) TheDebbieDee Jul 2017 OP
If there was a way to confirm for whom you voted... jberryhill Jul 2017 #1
Even if you could get that text confirmation about your presidential vote FiveGoodMen Jul 2017 #2
How does one ever know that their vote was counted? Not Ruth Jul 2017 #3
Hand-counted votes on paper ballots with members of both parties observing would be harder to cheat FiveGoodMen Jul 2017 #5
What jberryhill said - and Ms. Toad Jul 2017 #4
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
1. If there was a way to confirm for whom you voted...
Thu Jul 6, 2017, 02:57 PM
Jul 2017

...then there would be a mechanism to buy and sell votes.

How sick would any of these scenarios be:

1. Abusive husband beats wife because she voted for the "wrong" candidate, or refuses to show him her vote confirmation.

2. Candidate's agents pay $X for each confirmed vote for that candidate.

Is that what you want?

But, yes, huge confirmed elections are held and counted every couple of minutes in this country - they are called "horse races". Through various on-track and off-track mechanisms, millions of votes are made, counted and confirmed, so that people can cash their bets.

The secret ballot is not a technological issue, but most people have not thought through the consequences of a non-secret ballot.

FiveGoodMen

(20,018 posts)
2. Even if you could get that text confirmation about your presidential vote
Thu Jul 6, 2017, 03:38 PM
Jul 2017

There would be no way to know that the recorded result matched how you voted.

If they can hack voting machines (and whether they have or not, they certainly CAN) they can hack your text confirmation.

FiveGoodMen

(20,018 posts)
5. Hand-counted votes on paper ballots with members of both parties observing would be harder to cheat
Thu Jul 6, 2017, 05:34 PM
Jul 2017

Machine-counted votes give no reassurance.

And refusing to let anyone examine the counting software because it's "proprietary"
(counting is SO complicated after all! ) is a virtual guarantee of cheating going on.

Why else would the government outsource such a simple system except to give the cheaters some legal cover with the intellectual property argument?

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
4. What jberryhill said - and
Thu Jul 6, 2017, 05:18 PM
Jul 2017

in most places you can get confirmation that you voted, and that your vote was counted.

Who you voted for is not disclosed becuse, as noted, the fact of voting isn't worth much, but there are people who would buy your vote - or beat a wrong vote out of you.

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