Election officials warn against hand counting ballots after Nye County disaster
June 26, 2024 | Washoe County, Nevada
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In a recent government meeting, officials discussed the implications of transitioning to hand counting and paper ballots for elections, following a presentation by former Nye County Clerk Mark Compp. The consensus among several speakers was clear: Nye County's previous hand counting experiment was fraught with issues and should not serve as a model for Washoe County.
Compp's 2022 hand counting initiative was criticized for its inefficiency, with reports indicating that five tallyers took three hours to count just 50 ballots, resulting in a staggering 25% error rate. This led to the conclusion that the machine tabulations were, in fact, accurate. The challenges persisted during the recent June primary, where voters faced long lines attributed to the exclusive use of paper ballots.
Officials expressed concern that adopting similar practices in Washoe County, which has a significantly larger population, could severely hinder voter access. The Washoe County Register of Voters already conducts a risk-limiting audit, which was highlighted as a sufficient measure to ensure election integrity without the complications of hand counting.
Ryan Vortich, a representative from Silver State Voices, reinforced these points by citing research that indicates hand counting can lead to higher error rates compared to machine counting. He referenced a study from Rice University, which found that hand counting only achieved a 58% accuracy rate. Vortich also noted the extensive time and costs associated with hand counting, estimating that processing the 80,262 ballots from the recent primary would require over 4,000 hours of labor.
Moreover, concerns were raised regarding the potential negative impact on voters with disabilities, as a shift to a paper-based system could compromise their right to a private voting experience.
Overall, the meeting underscored a strong opposition to the adoption of hand counting and paper ballots in Washoe County, with officials advocating for the continued use of reliable voting machines to maintain public confidence in the electoral process.
Compp's 2022 hand counting initiative was criticized for its inefficiency, with reports indicating that five tallyers took three hours to count just 50 ballots, resulting in a staggering 25% error rate. This led to the conclusion that the machine tabulations were, in fact, accurate. The challenges persisted during the recent June primary, where voters faced long lines attributed to the exclusive use of paper ballots.
Officials expressed concern that adopting similar practices in Washoe County, which has a significantly larger population, could severely hinder voter access. The Washoe County Register of Voters already conducts a risk-limiting audit, which was highlighted as a sufficient measure to ensure election integrity without the complications of hand counting.
Ryan Vortich, a representative from Silver State Voices, reinforced these points by citing research that indicates hand counting can lead to higher error rates compared to machine counting. He referenced a study from Rice University, which found that hand counting only achieved a 58% accuracy rate. Vortich also noted the extensive time and costs associated with hand counting, estimating that processing the 80,262 ballots from the recent primary would require over 4,000 hours of labor.
Moreover, concerns were raised regarding the potential negative impact on voters with disabilities, as a shift to a paper-based system could compromise their right to a private voting experience.
Overall, the meeting underscored a strong opposition to the adoption of hand counting and paper ballots in Washoe County, with officials advocating for the continued use of reliable voting machines to maintain public confidence in the electoral process.
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