Video: Former President Donald Trump called for the use of paper ballots and said voting should only take place on one day during a rally in Lititz PA. NBC News' Dasha Burns reported on Trump's final rallies heading into Election Day. Weekends with Alex Witt. 11/3/2020
Transcript Excerpt: d0n0ld tRump... We should have one day voting and paper ballots. ...I heard a couple of states may go an extra 12 days. How the hell do you have an election? 0:37.
Video: Washington Journal. Thom Hartmann on the Role of Media in U.S. Politics. Progressive radio talk show host Thom Hartmann talks about the role of media in US politics with C-SPAN host Bill Scanlan. December 27, 2020.
Transcript Excerpt: Thom Hartmann... I have been a fan of paper ballots forever. I never thought we should have gotten into the territory of voting machines being owned by private companies. ... If we all agree that we all own the government -- we tell them what to do through the vote, and the government administers the public lands and the quality of air and water in the public schools -- then the ultimate part of the commons is our vote, the beating heart of democracy. If you take away a man's vote you reduce him to slavery. The vote should never be given to a private corporation. That part should never have been privatized which is what we did in 2000. I think people should be voting on paper. ... It is fraud free, not that there is really any voting fraud out there...
What tRump really means with his objections is, "how the hell do you have an election if you take the time to count all the votes? Just count enough votes to make me the winner".
Because what does counting votes have to do with elections? btw, paper ballots would SLOW down the process. Which is fine by me. I agree with Thom Hartmann. But tRump only claims that he wants paper ballots because it serves his false "bigly fraud" narrative. He doesn't care about accurately counting the votes. PROVEN by his wanting to cut off voting before all the ballots are tallied.
Below are the answers to some questions I asked Perplexity about the use of paper ballots in US elections...
| ...paper ballots are considered more secure than electronic-only voting machines for several key reasons...
Key Security Benefits of Paper Ballots... 1. Verifiable Audit Trail: Paper provides a physical record that can be used to verify results if software/hardware fails. About 97% of votes are now recorded on paper to ensure security and accuracy. Without paper trails, it's difficult or impossible to detect errors or breaches in voting machine software. 2. Protection Against Hacking: At the 2018 DEF CON conference, hackers easily manipulated paperless DRE (Direct-Recording Electronic) systems. Paper ballots provide backup if electronic systems are compromised. Physical paper ballots require close physical proximity to tamper with, making large-scale fraud more difficult. 3. Built-in Redundancy: Paper serves as a backup when technology fails. Election workers can return to traditional paper ballots if electronic machines break down [1]. Two-person or bipartisan teams handle paper ballots, providing additional security. Current Implementation... 1. Widespread Adoption: 97% of voters now cast ballots in jurisdictions with verifiable paper backups. 12 states still used some paperless DREs as of 2018, representing 150 electoral votes [4]. Many states are moving away from paperless systems due to security concerns [4]. 2. Expert Consensus: Election security experts from Harvard, Stanford, and the Brennan Center all recommend phasing out paperless. Paper is considered "state-of-the-art" despite seeming low-tech. The decentralized nature of paper ballot systems helps prevent large-scale systemic problems. Citations [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] ...paper ballot only voting is generally considered more secure than software-based voting machines, even those with a paper trail printout. Here are the key points... 1. Expert recommendations: Election security experts from institutions like Harvard, Stanford, and the Brennan Center for Justice recommend phasing out paperless voting in favor of paper ballots. 2. Paper as the "gold standard": Hand-marked paper ballots are described as the "gold standard protection" for voting security by experts like J. Alex Halderman, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan. 3. Vulnerabilities in electronic systems: Electronic voting machines, even those with paper trails, are known to have potential security vulnerabilities. For example, severe security flaws were identified in Georgia's Dominion Voting Systems touch screen voting machines. 4. Human error factor: With electronic voting machines, there's a higher risk of human error in selecting options on touchscreens, which can lead to incorrect votes being cast. 5. Auditability: While both systems can be audited, paper ballots provide a more straightforward and reliable audit trail. Risk-limiting audits, which are considered a best practice, are more easily conducted with paper ballots. 6. Decentralization: The decentralized nature of paper ballot systems helps prevent large-scale systemic problems that could potentially affect software-based systems. 7. Hacking resistance: Paper ballots are inherently more resistant to remote hacking attempts, as they require physical access to tamper with. 8. Voter verification: With paper ballots, voters can directly verify their choices before submitting, whereas with electronic systems, even those with paper trails, there's an additional step of verifying the printout. While software-based voting machines with paper trail printouts are certainly more secure than paperless electronic voting, they still introduce additional complexities and potential vulnerabilities compared to simple paper ballot systems. The consensus among experts seems to favor paper ballots as the most secure and reliable voting method. Citations [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] ...I cannot give you an exact number or percentage of districts that use paper ballots only. However, I can break down what we know... 1. Voting System Types: Most jurisdictions use a mix of systems. Many use optical scan systems where voters mark paper ballots that are then scanned. Some use ballot marking devices (BMDs) where voters select on a screen and the machine prints a paper ballot. Some still use direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines. 2. State Examples, as per Ballotpedia data: Maine uses "Hand-marked paper ballots, BMDs for "accessibility" with "Hand count and optical scan". Massachusetts uses the same system as Maine. Several states use a combination of methods. Louisiana is noted as using "DREs without VVPAT for all voters". 3. Paper Usage: While 97% of votes are recorded on paper in some form, this includes both hand-marked paper ballots and machine-printed paper trails. This doesn't mean 97% use paper ballots only. The paper record could be from various systems including optical scan, BMDs, or DREs with paper trails. Recent Trends: Some states are moving toward paper-based systems. Tennessee has proposed legislation (SB821) to move to hand-marked paper ballots and hand counting beginning with the 2024 election cycle. Without more specific data, I cannot provide an exact count or percentage of districts that use paper ballots exclusively. Citations... [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] |
Conclusion ... I support the use of paper ballots in agreement with the views of Thom Hartmann. d0n0ld tRump says he likes paper ballots, but only because it serves his narrative that elections are rigged against republicans and Democrats are cheating. This is complete bullpucky.
I support democracy, while d0n0ld tRump opposes it. Proven by his calls for one day of in-person voting when counting ALL the votes takes as long as it takes. Getting the tally correct is what is important. As opposed to cutting off voting before all the votes are tallied.
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