Election Data On Web Sites
This list offers some suggestions as to how our elections can be improved by making election data available for public inspection. For more suggestions, please see the issues page.
We need publication on at least one web site, regularly on election night and beyond, the detailed precinct reports from the election tabulators in human and computer-readable formats. These reports include the vote totals for each candidate in each precinct and need to be updated and made publicly available on a regular basis. Computer-readable formats might include EML (Election Markup Language), XML, comma-delimited or tab-delimited. The purpose of this is to allow programmers to download the data and quickly double check the totals reported by the tabulators. A detailed precinct report is a simple database dump, not hard to do.
To help reduce the number of long lines, counties should post on the Web the allocation of precincts and voting machines in those precincts, along with data concerning current registration numbers and historical vote counts in those precincts. This would be well before the election, to allow the candidates, parties and the public to request better allocation of these resources. Perhaps the state can offer a template for this.
Tabulators have event logs and audit logs. Those could be posted on the Web on a regular basis, before, during, and after the election. Event logs under Windows end with .evt, and are in the system folder. There are 3 to 5 or 6 that are of interest. An event log in San Diego recorded a tabulator phoning Diebold offices in Everett, Washington on Election Day, June 6, 2006.
We may also want to consider the Web posting of all ballot definition files and event logs on DREs and scanners, though the sheer numbers involved may preclude that unless there is a need to know.
Where scanners take actual pictures of the ballots, those should be posted on the Web as soon as possible. Scanners should also count the number of ballots whose markings may be difficult to determine
The state and counties should post statistics on how well the election went. Included would be data on how many provisional ballots were issued, how long the lines were, how many machines broke down and when, and other reports of anomalies.
Perhaps information posted to the Web can be also published by RSS feeds and email.
Nobody, and no machine, should be counting
American votes in secret.
For further information, email Jim Soper at :
Jim.Soper@GMail.com
CountedAsCast.com/issues/electiondata.php
(May 29, 08)
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