So my Facebook feed recently included a video (not linking) from something called TG Network News, purporting to display the ease of hacking a Diebold voting machine and altering the results. This site, on searching, is a right wing source, but we all have reason to be skeptical about machine manipulation. Here’s a modest proposal, but it would require some type of national clearinghouse. 1. Voter goes to polls and marks ballot. Voter takes a picture of the completed ballot and uploads it to the clearinghouse database. Photo contains accurate representation of ballot and the metadata records the time and place of the vote cast.
2. Clearinghouse database matches uploaded data with ‘official’ results, seeking discrepancies.
Obviously not everyone would participate, but if a large proportion of the voting public could be educated to understand that this is a way to prevent vote manipulation by hacking, possibly we could build on a platform like this for the future. With significant participation, any vast discrepancies in outcomes could be disclosed.
This is just a kernel of an idea, which needs amplification. Who would operate the database? How would voters be engaged in the process? Could someone create an App for this?
Given that the Trump forces are already ginning up the concept that he can only lose if the election is ‘stolen’ from him, I think pre-emptive measures are necessary. I’m sure I’ll see the video noted above many times before November. And if his true believers buy into the stolen election meme, they will find what they perceive to be just cause for disorder.