System Overview
Before beginning our search for auditability within the current system, let’s prepare by reviewing the overarching system.
Perhaps the simplest way to look at the overall election system is an input-output program. At its simplest, we are putting in ballots and getting out tallies for candidates, or vote totals.
Who is putting in the ballots? Voters. (This is not the only way, but in essence this is how many readers probably are thinking about it.)
So, for inputs, we have voters and ballots. For outputs, we have the reported vote totals.
An election should be able to equalize voters, ballots, and votes.
The Six Phases
These phases are inspired by Mark Cook’s work.
We will look at:
- Registration
- Absentee Voting
- Election Day
- Election Night
- Reporting
- Audits
In Minnesota, the Registration process puts voters into a database, called the statewide voter registration system (SVRS).
In the 46 days of mail-in, absentee, and early voting, ballots can be mailed in, or inserted directly into a tabulator by the voter (if early voting). On election day, ballots are put into the tabulators at polling places, also called precincts. Because of the detail involved with mail-in and absentee voting, this book will take this as its own election phase.
Election Day will then be its own phase.
Election Night follows that, where tabulation is finalized and reporting begins.
Reporting also gets its own phase because, at present, there are many steps involved, manual and electronic.
Audits, which are limited, for the moment, in Minnesota, is a critical phase. Note, however, that this book will encourage readers to discover ways to audit every one of the six phases, including the audit phase itself.