NY TIMES MAGAZINE TO RUN 'MASSIVE, SCARY' COVER STORY ON AMERICA'S E-VOTING DISASTER THIS SUNDAY

ON A COMPUTER,
IT IS JUST AS EASY TO TURN A 1 INTO 100
AS IT IS TO TURN A 1 INTO A 2.

• Software presents the "ballot paper" to the voter in their language, either printed or spoken.
  
• A handful of arcade style buttons (back, forward, yes, no, abstain, and "GET ME A SCRUTINEER NOW") are used to enter the voters preference.
  
• The voter's preferences are temporarily stored using a system of pure hardware registers.
  
• Once the voter is satisfied with his ballot, he commits it to a physical ballot.
  • Whatever the recording method, the actual solution should consist of dedicated hardware with no software component whatsoever.
    
  • The voter is then given the option of verifying his physical ballot. (With the aid of a crib sheet if necessary)
    
  • When the voter confirms his ballot, additional dedicated (software free) hardware tamper proofs it with a digital watermark calculated using the voter's ballot selections, booth identifier, time/date and the previous voter's "watermark".
    
  • The voter is issued with a receipt that can be used (if they wish) to retrieve their actual physical ballot (under proper oversight) from storage at a later date.
• Tabulation of individual ballots is again accomplished with dedicated, software free, hardware, this can take place at any level, but ideally should be done as close to the poling location as practicable.
  
• Transmission of tabulated data is done in parallel through multiple and indepenedent channels.
  • At least one of those channels (probably web pages) should make this data available to ANYONE who wants/requests it.
• Final tabulation is again on dedicated, software free, hardware.

The basic premises are:
• To eliminate software driven hardware from the vote recording and tabulation stages entirely, except in a confirmatory role with discrepancies resulting in either manual checks of individual ballots for one off instances, or a comprehensive hand count if there is significant disagreement.
  
• Physically simple hardware which can be confirmed as performing to specs by any moderately well equipped electronics hobbyist.
  
• To make the raw tallies available publicly at the earliest practicable point in the process. Ideally on the individual precinct level AND directly from each precinct. And to make the consolidated figures available at each later stage in the tallying process.
  
• To allow any person in the world (in theory at least) to act as an unofficial scrutineer.
  
• To reveal attempts at tampering and to as closely as possible identify the point at which such tampering was attempted.