Category: Musings

Voting integrity.

It’s been an issue for literally decades. In the past 15 or 20 years it’s become more of an issue. 

There was a time when the only way to screw with an election was to stuff the ballot box with paper.

With the adoption of electronic voting machines, suddenly paper ballots weren’t that big a deal because electronics are really good at duplicating. 

What happens if you select a ballot with desired characteristics and tell and electronic voting machine to triple the count of the desired ballots. In a way, that would be the hardest malfunction to refute if original paper ballots weren’t available. How do investigators separate fiction from reality.

Let’s assume that I wanted to screw the pooch on a free and fair election. I’d create a random number generator, then I’d set that to collapse and regenerate at random intervals.. The random number would be the length of time that the voting machine was going to duplicate ballots for a particular candidate or select group of candidates.

Because the duplication wouldn’t be the same number every time, and the duplication would be happening at random intervals it would require a complete paper audit to get a real count on a single machine.

Now think what it would be like to have thousands of machines randomly duplicating a random number of ballots. From a software test perspective, these kinds of software glitches were maddening to figure out. 

Believe it or not, it’s possible for software to have something like I’ve described built in by accident. People like me, used to be what stood between the software you used and enjoyed, and software that made you crazy.

If someone were to intentionally program something like this into the voting machines, you’d have a suspicion the vote was being monkeyed with, but proving that assertion would be really difficult without a hand count.

Here’s another nasty thought about this kind of cheating. Because there isn’t any consistency it could be interpreted as spurious (and defined as well within the margin of error,)  causing courts to decide the plaintiff / candidate has “No Standing”.

Hmmm. 

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So the question is, how do you ensure that there are no shenanigans in voting?

Well, you can bring technology to the rescue. But that is I think an incomplete solution and lends itself to the very shenanigans you’re trying to stop.

You could use a blockchain solution. You could use a simpler encryption. You could probably use just a simple CRC.

The problem as I see it, isn’t so much the encryption mechanism, the problem tracks back to one vote, one person. That implies that every State would have to  implement voter ID.

Once you implement Voter ID then something like a bunch of fields can be used to create a long string of data as a kind of header.

FNAMELNAMESTREETADDRESSAPTCITYSTATEZIPVOTERIDNUMBER 

464E414D454C4E414D45535452454554414444524553534150544349545953544154455A4950564F54455249444E554D424552C2A0 0x85BB9A40

464E414D454C4E414D45535452454554414444524553534150544349545953544154455A4950564F54455249444E554D424552B2A0 0xAA84E3B6

If you covert that data to numeric equivalents you’ve now got a string of numbers that can have a CRC value calculated.

In the example above, the portion of the data that starts 0x is the CRC. You’ll notice that they’re different. That difference is caused by 1 character being changed. The example was created from the text above the hexadecimal numbers.

Next, is the block of data that contains the actual voter selections. Again, convert this data to a kind of packet. The packet could be as long as needed.

For the sake of argument assume that the entire ballot is represented by binary numbers.

Candidate for office 1

Office – 00000001

Candidate

X – 001

Y – 010

Z – 011

Gives you 0000000100000011 assuming a vote for candidate Z.

Office 2

Office – 00000010

Candidate

X – 001

Y – 010

Z – 011

Gives you 0000001000000010 assuming a vote for candidate Y.

All this results in a string of numbers 00000001000000110000001000000010 that can be CRCed and again if one number is changed the CRC value won’t match. Indicating either tampering or a glitch.

Using a system like this you could easily have 255 issues/offices on one ballot. It’s equally possible to have 255 candidates per issue. This is just using 8 bits “0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0”. If necessary, expansion to 16 bits is easily done.

It’s even possible to have one or more selections to a point. It’s possible to build in checks that invalidate multiple selections per office where only one selection is allowed. In the case of a rejected ballot, you needn’t  review the entire ballot, simply the office(s) where a stray pencil mark may happen.

For the sake of consistency it’s probably best to convert the binary to Hex

The result would look like 01030202 0x4786058E again the 0x is the CRC. 

Then finally, encode the date time, and location the vote was cast. To do this use epoch time. Epoch time is a number that computers use to calculate time internally. Since computers don’t think in Feb 27, 2024 there’s a numeric constant that’s being incremented every second. The starting date is Jan 1, 1970. Now you know why your devices will sometimes reset to that date when they lose power. Nothing magical about it, it’s just an arbitrary date that everybody agreed upon. So the number below represents the number of seconds elapsed since Midnight, Jan 1, 1970 followed by the CRC.

1709058569 0x3A404184

What I’m building here is modeled after a network packet. 

The object in the preamble it’s going to be unique. The vote data might be the same across 1000s of people is added as part of a unique yet retrievable voter record and the date/time, voting location ensures that only the first vote is valid.

If all of these fields were just CRCed. Then any variation or alteration of the data would show up. A CRC mismatch would indicate that the data has been tampered with. If more complex encryption or block chain was used, the security would increase. The question is, do we need that level of security?

Under this off the cuff system, each vote would be a singular event. There would be only one valid vote, any copies would be ignored. The data packet would look something like this:

464E414D454C4E414D45535452454554414444524553534150544349545953544154455A4950564F54455249444E554D424552C2A00x85BB9A40010302020x4786058E17090585690x3A404184

And it would be unique per person. Folks receive a printed receipt that contains a number (as above), possibly a QR code, and their “I Voted Sticker”. Even folks voting on paper or with punch ballots could get a printed receipt easily. They just feed their completed ballot into a scanner as they exit the polling place. The scanner, records the image, produces the numeric data above and generates the checksum. 

Much the same process occurs in a computer network. Packets originate from a specific computer and even specific applications. The origination address makes certain that any response is returned to the proper computer and application. The data block is a defined size, and the time increment makes sure that individual packets can be reassembled into coherent data even if the data is received out of sequence.

There are CRC’s run on the data when it’s transmitted and again on the receiving system. If the CRC fails, the data packet is requested to be sent again.

The trouble is, no matter what system is implemented. Without voter ID in all 50 states the system falls down. 

A system like this also requires that no-one can register and vote on the same day. Registering and voting on the same day is INSANE and ripe for abuse. Everyone knows that, yet there are states that allow it.

Let’s be honest here, do we really want people voting who can’t make enough of a plan to register to vote 2 or 3 months in advance of an election? Voting is kind of like gun ownership, maybe we need a 21 day waiting period!

Another problem with a system as I’ve described is making the data unique to an individual. This begs the question of who votes? Do you allow only United States citizens the right to vote, or do you allow everyone in the country the right to vote? I’m a big believer that only United States citizens should be allowed to vote. I might consider flexibility for those people who are several years along the naturalized citizen pathway.

Voting rights could be granted as a milestone during the naturalization process. I’m aware that often a person working toward citizenship is better informed about this country and our laws than a citizen born here. I’m counting on it, and that the reasons a person chose to come to this country, then chose to work to become a citizen are reasons that will inform their voting choices. The idea is that whatever they left behind does not become the law of this land.

What does this have to do with a voting system as I’ve proposed? It’s about adding another data field that helps with making each vote a unique event.

What I’ve described is just a basic thumbnail sketch of a system. Application of encryption adds more security, and perhaps with a public key / private key scheme, tampering or whatever could be stopped. But everyone would have to have a public/private key pair. Using blockchain adds the same level of complexity. Everyone would have to have something like a blockchain account. How do you manage that?

One way would be to use the “smart” functionality of our passports and encode a key pair or blockchain ID into that chip. Then presenting the passport would unlock the voting process for the individual.

I’ve long been a proponent of every single citizen having a passport. I’ve got a passport and a passport card. I wouldn’t be opposed to presenting a passport, and my driver’s license at a polling place. I wouldn’t mind having to use my thumbprint next to my signature on the ballot, or to access the polling place, or activate a voting machine.

My Mother thinks I’m some kind of fascist for thinking any of the above is okay. She parrots that tired old BS the Democrat party has been peddling for years. “Not Everyone can get an ID. They’re poor, they may not have a birth certificate, it’s tough to navigate the complexities of getting an ID.” 

The last time we spoke about this issue, I asked her, “Okay Mom, then how do these people have bank accounts, buy cars, apply for FEMA when a tornado destroys their trailer park, or apply for welfare? They have to have ID for all of those things.”

I suggested that while my Mother was one of the least racist people I know, she was sounding a whole lot like an old racist Dixiecrat waiting on the sheets to dry for the cross burning that night.

That ended the conversation. 

I’d even be totally willing for any U.S. Citizen to be able to obtain taxpayer funded verified ID. If money wasn’t a roadblock to the poor, then implementation of national voter ID should be a breeze. 

Except… the pushback for a national ID system is enormous and it comes from some of the oddest places.

One of the funniest things I’ve ever participated in was a family reunion discussion that found atheist democrats and religious republicans startled because they both were against national voter ID.

The religious group called it the number of the beast and a sign of the end times. The atheists called it a horrific invasion of privacy and the first step toward a Nazi fascist state.

I was sitting there watching the show, enjoying my beer. 

After both sides appeared to have exhausted themselves, I pointed out that unless they’d moved from one state to another, their driver’s license number was already an ID number that hadn’t changed since they were 16 years old. How big a leap is it to have the feds just used that number as a national ID?

Then I pulled another beer from the cooler.

I’m sometimes an evil fucker. The other half glared at me trying to act angry, then he started chuckling and we both enjoyed the rest of the show.

I can see some of my über liberal friends saying, “what about those people who can’t get to a polling place?” Well, if we have national ID then the polling place can be taken to those people. Their ID grants access to a digital polling pad that’s portable and records their biometrics and their ballot. That pad gets physically plugged into a voting tabulator which verifies the records and either tallies the vote or kicks it out because it’s invalid. 

That puts an end to dead people voting. When you die, your ID along with your credit cards, and bank accounts are closed or at least locked and unusable.

As an aside, when you die… the Social Security Administration is informed pretty damn quick. They in turn send out some kind of notice to the banks and credit card folks. So if one of your loved ones dies, don’t fall for the scumbag banks trying to bully payments out of you. Especially if your name isn’t on the card or line of credit.

Don’t fall for the creditors claiming they weren’t notified of the death. They absolutely had access to that information. It’s probably the one time the misuse of our Social Security Account Numbers works in our favor.What those fuckers are counting on is that in your grief you’ll reaffirm on the line of credit by paying or talking to them about it. If you acknowledge the debt they can fuck you.

Note, if the account, card, or line of credit has your name on it, sorry bucko, you’re still on the hook.

Have you ever really thought about this? Someone asking for your social security number is pretty much the same as them asking for your checking account number or debit card number. So why does the medical system, or banking, or insurance provider, or utility company need your social security number? 

You know why? It’s a unique identifier, kind of like a national ID number. Yeah… Think about that for a minute!

How about this? Ask me for my passport number. It’s more secure, has a photograph of me, and with the new chipped versions they’re going to be really hard to duplicate.

Just a thought…