Who we are
We are a nonpartisan, election integrity organization working with citizens, organizations, and legislators as well as national experts to win secure, transparent, accurate, auditable elections in Georgia and nationwide.
What we do
We engage in public education, lobbying and legislative efforts to promote voting systems that follow the recommendations of top election integrity and cybersecurity experts and that minimize hidden technology and vendor involvement in elections.
Why it's important
Voters cannot trust their votes are counted as cast unless electronic election results are transparently verified. That requires a system of secure custody of voter-verified paper ballots manually audited post election to check the accuracy of electronic election results.
How it Works
The ABC's of in-precinct voting, counting and securing ballots in the hand-marked paper ballot voting system that twenty-two states plus D.C. use as their principal method of voting statewide:
A.MARK BALLOT
At the polling location, voters hand-mark a paper ballot using a pen or, for assistive voting, mark a paper ballot using an electronic ballot marking device (BMD).
B.CAST
Voters then cast their paper ballots by feeding into an optical scanner, on which votes are tabulated, recorded on memory cards and machine-fed into secure ballot boxes.
C.AUDIT
A paper tape of election results is printed from the scanner and securely transported with locked ballot boxes to county election facilities for audits and preservation.
SECURE
The voting method recommended by far by the nation's top cybersecurity and computer science experts.
TRANSPARENT
Reduces likelihood of errors or malfeasance undetectably compromising the accuracy of election results.
ACCURATE
Restores confidence in elections with audits that compare electronically tabulated results with the voter-verified, paper ballots.
RELIABLE
Reduces the state's dependency on vendors, secret software and electronic equipment with numerous threat and failure points for elections.
TESTED
Proven successful as the most common voting method in use statewide in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
PREFERRED
The preferred voting method by 55% of Georgians and the easiest voting method for pollworkers and election supervisors to adminiister.
A hand-marked, paper ballot voting system is 1/3 the cost, requires 10x less technology, ongoing maintenance and equipment, is less vulnerable and easier to implement for elections than the wasteful, all-electronic, blackbox voting system proposed by the state.
10x less equipment; 10x less ongoing maintenance.
What experts are saying:
" The 2020 elections are around the corner,” she wrote. “If a new balloting system is to be launched in Georgia in an effective manner, it should address democracy’s critical need for transparent, fair, accurate, and verifiable election processes that guarantee each citizen’s fundamental right to cast an accountable vote. "
" I recommend that we use the most accurate, safest, and most secure approach, which is to require a voter to hand mark his/her paper ballot, scan it, and drop it in a safe box....This is the safest and most secure record for an audit because hand-marked paper ballots in a safe box have not been processed by any cybersystem and would not be vulnerable to any possible cyberattack. "
" In light of the pervasive security vulnerabilities of all electronic voting systems, including Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs), as well as the considerable cost of BMDs, Verified Voting Foundation endorses the use of hand-marked paper ballots as the best primary method for recording votes in public elections. BMDs do play an important role for some voters, including voters with disabilities, that prevent them from hand-marking paper ballots. However, the primary voting method for most voters should be hand-marked paper ballots. "