Count votes same way we count money

Count votes same way we count money: "Why can't counting ballots be as precise and mundane as counting money in the bank? Democracy can be messy, but that doesn't mean counting our votes should be, too."

I think this column does the best I have seen at describing what exactly we need to feel secure about our votes. These few statements are paramount:

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"How have banks earned our trust? There are three key elements we are all familiar with: accurate electronic transactions, customer verification and independent audit."

... [In the system VoteHere offers], "at the time you vote you are given a private, take-home receipt that preserves your secret ballot. After the election, you can check your receipt against the election results to make sure your vote was counted properly -- just like you reconcile your ATM receipts against your monthly bank statement. At the same time, any independent organization can audit all the votes to make sure the final count is right."

Interesting...

I don't know that I entirely agree. I really think the best choice might be straight paper ballots, hand-counted. They do it other places, why not here. It really is the only way where we can seriously count them all with observers watching and counting along, as far as I can see.