…and Audit2020.org is off to the races! (Find more about this effort on the About page.)
Wisconsin’s elections administrators will be conducting an audit of the state’s voting machines, including controversial new machines that record your vote as an undecipherable bar code. Between now and November 25th, 2020, 5% of the voting machines used in Wisconsin (~200 total) will be audited by counting the vote totals on the paper ballots and comparing that to the machine totals.
This means that, for a three week period beginning November 4th, randomly selected wards from towns across the state will have the paper ballots counted by hand and compared with the machine totals to verify that the machines were free of programming errors, mechanical problems, or hacking. Since the machines we use to vote are so susceptible to these problems, this is a crucial step towards safeguarding our elections from manipulation, and we as voters and concerned citizens need to make the most of it.
In 2016, the presidential recount that many of you were involved in revealed that over 17,000 votes were miscounted! In fact, for over a decade now these audits have consistently turned up thousands of miscounted votes, and yet county clerks continue to certify erroneous results. We’ll need citizens across the state to participate by observing the audit, reporting back what you saw, and raising your voice for more accurate counting. Our longer plan is to build on this audit to get better elections procedures in place between now and the next election. Will you join us?