A Crisis of Confidence: We Must Overhaul Elections for the People
The following comes from Goldstandardelections.com
The people have lost faith in our elections. We must urgently restructure the entire election process to restore public confidence.
Americans don’t trust that their votes are counted accurately. Counting that goes on for a month, ballots with no chain of custody, and ballot harvesting are just a few of the concerns. Many people still skeptical of voter fraud were convinced when they saw that Kamala Harris had 20 million fewer voters than Joe Biden in 2024. Since the HAVA Act of 2002, which subsidized electronic voting, our election infrastructure has become more complex and vulnerable. Furthermore, many of the tasks and responsibilities of the election process were outsourced to third parties. We, the People, lost control of our elections, which became centralized and controlled by corporations, contractors, and the federal and state governments. The only way to ensure every vote is counted accurately and transparently is to implement a paper ballot system with secure, hand-marked ballots publicly counted locally. The government’s role is to aid us in administering OUR elections.
The solution is the “Gold Standard” – a comprehensive, nationwide blueprint for revamping elections with one day of voting, hand-marked paper ballots, and public observation of the counting process. This solution, outlined in this policy paper, Gold Standard Elections, was constructed with feedback from multiple states and countless hours of testing.
The goal of the Gold Standard is simple. Optimize four cornerstones for trustworthy elections-accessibility, security, transparency, and verifiability. Make elections more accessible to qualified voters, secure the physical ballots and other components of the election system, enhance transparency of the entire process (while ensuring that votes are cast in secret), and allow citizens to verify results. Our whitepaper steps through all four phases of the election process while providing specific recommendations for optimizing the cornerstones for each phase. They are summarized below:
Recommendations to achieve the “Gold Standard”
Phase 1: Voter Registration: controls who and how many ballots are issued
• In-person registration with valid ID and proof of citizenship at least every 4 years (affidavit and confirmation of legitimate domicile)
• Paper “library card” system of voter rolls sorted by precinct at the county with redundant read-only computer copy
• Separate database for active and inactive/archived
• Voter rolls are free of charge, downloadable online
Phase 2: Voter Validation: controls the legitimacy of ballots eligible for tabulation
• Ongoing validation of rolls; if the voter is activated after inactive status, they must re-register.
• Paper Poll Books- confirm accuracy against paper card system and freeze 30 days before an election-no new registrations beyond this point
• Voters must have a valid current ID at the time of voting
• Periodic checks of voter qualifications and status to ensure accuracy
Phase 3: Marking and Counting of Ballots: controls when/where/how the votes are counted
• One day of voting, a state/federal holiday (early voting is discouraged)
• Hand-marked, Hand-counted Paper Ballots
• Ballots must employ security features and procedures
• Secure transfer of ballots with detailed logs
• Increase poll workers to ensure timely counting (before midnight)
• Count where cast at the precincts which should be small, <1,500 electors; penalties for violations
• Ballots sequentially numbered but randomly selected (pick a card)
• Observable by the public and live-streamed and/or recorded if possible
• Strong Chain of Custody (COC) measures
• Public access to Chain of Custody docs
• Procedures for COC must be published, and election workers must be trained
• Absentee balloting-minimal and also sorted and counted at their precinct (secure transfer from county)
o Do not open absentee ballots until counting commences
o Sequential numbering is used to track and reconcile before count
• Disability provisions – ADA and curbside
Phase 4: Election Night Results Reporting: controls what results are ultimately reported and certified promptly
• Tally results are provided on summary totals sheets, which are then sealed, reported to the county and state, and posted on the precinct door.
• Ballot counting is open to the public and can be recorded with a cellphone camera mounted over the ballots and tally and total sheets.
• Vote results shall be provided to all citizens within 24 hours of the count, preferably posted on county websites.
• All election records should be free of charge to citizens.
The solution is simple, elegant, and inexpensive. It primarily requires people, paper, and pens.
Legislators and election officials complain that they cannot find people to work the polls and will take too much time to count. They worry about human error. These concerns are unfounded. Our studies show that a team of four people, a bipartisan team of two talliers and two callers, can count 100 ballots with 11 races in an hour. If precinct size is kept to 1,500 in a busy election with a 75-70% turnout (around 1,000 ballots), three teams could fully count 1,000 ballots in roughly three and ½ hours, including breaks. This new paradigm is entirely doable, and people in the community will be enthused about the opportunity to engage in this process. With the cost savings from eliminating the expense of purchasing, storing, and maintaining the machines, you could pay election workers an amount that would be desirable. After two or three rounds of counting, poll workers rarely have to recount, and errors are rare due to the reconciliation process. As a reminder, counties use hand-count audits to confirm machine counts, so hand-counting is already viewed as the arbiter of accuracy.
Since the times, places, and manner of holding elections are prescribed by each state per the US Constitution, the state legislatures must respond to the people’s call for reform. These laws must be in place before our next election of 2028. Both parties will cry foul should the results not be in their interest. Equipment manufacturers and third-party contractors have much to lose. These companies are closely held private ventures that do not provide disclosure. Most current technology is made overseas, leaving our systems vulnerable to potential bad actors through hidden backdoor hacks or other malfeasance. Our own federal and state infrastructure is unreliable in its ability to verify citizenship and authenticity of voter registrations. There are far too many attack vectors. There are far too many reasons for voters to doubt the authenticity of our vote. We must stop this discussion once and for all by adopting the Gold Standard Election System.
Will our state elected officials respect the people’s will and adopt these law changes, or will they continue to make excuses for a system that lacks credibility, transparency, and trustworthiness? It is a tricky answer when this system is most likely responsible for their longevity. Our Congress and State houses should not be residences for decades-long careers but rather places where concerned citizens serve their constituents for a few terms and graciously cede their position to the next round of willing civil servants.
The people no longer trust our political system. The remedy for this distrust starts with the reformation of our election system. Bottom-up pressure from concerned voters and top-down pressure from President Trump’s new administration is key to making this happen. Let’s do this.
You left out the first two steps. At least for all federal elections, registration should be closed 30 days before the election for a final count of registered voters. Then:
1) Coded and sequentially and uniquely numbered ballots should be printed on watermarked paper by the federal government’s printing office based on the number of registered voters in each state. For example, if there are 9,245,035 registered voters in Georgia, for the 2026 congressional election, the watermarked ballots should be numbered GA26-0000001 to GA26-9245035. NO EXTRA BALLOTS
2) Georgia’s ballots should be boxed, sealed, and shipped from the printing office to the state elections board with a signed off chain of custody, affirming the number received. Each state’s elections board should further divide the ballots by registered voters per county and from county by number of registered voters to precincts, each time delivered sealed and with chain of custody. ALL NUMBERED BALLOTS MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR, packaged and labeled “completed,” “damaged,” or “unused,” and shipped directly to the state board of elections in sealed boxes with chain of custody.
There is no election integrity without ballot integrity.
A blockchain-based voting system can provide enhanced security, transparency, and trust in the election process by creating a decentralized, tamper-proof ledger. Here’s a high-level design of a blockchain voting system:
Key Features:
1. Security: Blockchain’s cryptographic techniques ensure the integrity of votes.
2. Transparency: The entire voting process is auditable, providing a public record without compromising voter anonymity.
3. Immutability: Once a vote is cast, it cannot be altered or deleted.
4. Anonymity: Voter identities remain confidential while still ensuring that votes are legitimate.
Components of the Voting System
1. Blockchain Ledger
• A decentralized blockchain network serves as the core ledger where votes are recorded.
• Public Blockchain (e.g., Ethereum) or Private Permissioned Blockchain (e.g., Hyperledger) can be used depending on scalability and privacy needs.
• Each vote is a transaction recorded on the blockchain, secured by cryptographic hashes.
2. Smart Contracts
• Smart contracts automate and enforce election rules (e.g., ensuring only eligible voters can cast a vote).
• These contracts can define how votes are collected, counted, and published.
• Example Functions:
• Validate voter credentials.
• Confirm that each voter can only vote once.
• Automatically tally votes at the end of the election.
3. Voter Identity Verification
• Decentralized Identity (DID) solutions can be used to ensure that voters are verified without revealing personal details on the blockchain.
• Multi-factor authentication or integration with national ID systems (such as biometrics, government IDs, etc.) ensures only eligible voters can access the system.
• Voter privacy is maintained by encrypting their identity and using zero-knowledge proofs to verify eligibility without exposing details.
4. Voting Application
• A user-friendly interface (mobile or web) where voters can cast their ballots securely.
• The application communicates with the blockchain via a wallet (for public blockchains) or a private key (for private blockchains) to sign and submit the vote.
• The user votes through a secure ballot that encrypts their vote before it is sent to the blockchain.
5. Encryption and Anonymity
• Votes are encrypted before being stored on the blockchain to ensure voter privacy.
• Homomorphic encryption can be used to allow votes to be counted while still encrypted.
• Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) can be implemented to confirm that the voter is eligible and their vote was counted, without revealing the vote itself.
6. Voting Nodes and Validators
• Election authorities, civil society organizations, or independent observers act as validators or voting nodes in a permissioned blockchain system.
• These nodes validate and confirm each voting transaction before it is added to the blockchain, ensuring transparency and preventing tampering.
7. Audit and Transparency
• A public audit trail allows voters to confirm that their vote was recorded correctly.
• End-to-end verifiability ensures that any voter can verify that their vote has been counted without compromising anonymity.
• Election auditors or third-party organizations can monitor and verify results without interfering with the system’s integrity.
8. Tallying and Results
• Once the voting period ends, smart contracts can automatically tally the votes from the blockchain ledger.
• Tallying can be done on-chain, ensuring transparency and immediate results.
• Since votes are immutable, the final results cannot be tampered with.
How It Works – Step by Step Process
1. Registration:
• Eligible voters register with the system using a secure identity verification process (e.g., a national ID, biometrics).
• Voter is assigned a unique cryptographic key (private key), which they will use to sign their vote.
2. Casting a Vote:
• Voter logs into the voting application using secure multi-factor authentication.
• The voter selects their choice and submits their vote.
• The vote is encrypted and digitally signed using the voter’s private key and submitted to the blockchain as a transaction.
3. Validation and Recording:
• The vote transaction is validated by a consensus mechanism (e.g., Proof of Stake, Byzantine Fault Tolerance).
• Once validated, the vote is added to the blockchain ledger and becomes immutable.
4. Confirmation and Auditing:
• Voters can use a unique transaction ID to confirm that their vote has been recorded correctly, without revealing how they voted.
• Auditors and election observers can monitor the blockchain in real-time to ensure fairness and accuracy.
5. Vote Tallying:
• At the end of the election, smart contracts tally the votes automatically.
• Results are published and available for public viewing.
6. Post-election Audit:
• The entire election process is fully auditable by any third party, ensuring transparency and trust in the final result.
Advantages of Blockchain Voting System
• Security: Strong encryption and decentralization protect against vote tampering and hacking.
• Transparency: Publicly accessible audit trails allow anyone to verify the results.
• Efficiency: Smart contracts automate much of the voting and tallying process, making it faster and more reliable.
• Anonymity: Cryptographic techniques ensure that votes are anonymous, while still verifiable.
Challenges and Considerations
• Scalability: Public blockchains can face scalability issues during large elections, though layer-2 solutions or permissioned blockchains can mitigate this.
• Voter Accessibility: Ensuring that all voters have access to secure internet connections and devices to vote online.
• Regulatory Compliance: The system must comply with national and local election laws.
• Blockchain Expertise: Election officials and stakeholders need adequate training and technical understanding of blockchain systems.
By leveraging blockchain technology, this system ensures the security, transparency, and fairness of modern voting processes.
Why? Just replacing one complex system with another when there is no reason for complexity.
1 voter id against a verified voter roll
2 chain of custody maintained for all ballots
3 all votes counted at the precinct level and all voters must be registered in the precinct where they vote.
Unfortunately, computer designs tend to have a wide variety of unexpected and exploitable security issues, which we must avoid.
A trustable paper ballot accounting system can be simple, have few steps, with each step easily understood by a 6th grader, instead of a mystery hidden inside a computer.
Federal elections should use the same ballot across the country, with limited choices allowing faster and less confusing voting. Formal results should be held until the farthest west voting has ended. States would have their own separate ballot.