Mirrored from here, where there is a good discussion in the comments.
https://canncon.locals.com/post/989334/technology-in-vote-counting-isnt-necessarily-bad

"Paper Ballots Everywhere" should be a thing. But "Paper Ballots Only, Everywhere" will likely fail. This is simply because the "Paper Ballots Only" is not a realistic solution for many (more populated) areas that need an electronic way to count the paper ballots. Either their law requires it, or they won't have enough support to count paper ballots, or both.

We need more than just proof of the problem - we need a problem-solution pair. This requires different skillsets - different technical people in the room (not just cyber security experts), listening to what voters and legislators want from their voting system. This shapes the election integrity movement in a reasonable, cost-effective, productive way for all. It gives the anxious and silent people a way to passively approve a solution with the problem - that's how we win.

Please consider subscribing (for free) to CannCon and joint the discussion. Also please consider donating. Rough estimate for volunteer engineers to prototype and test a solution is probably less than 100k USD. At the moment, can only accept Cardano (ADA). I give my word any donations will be transparently and responsibly used for this effort.
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-----Questions mirrored-------
Documentation that would help get this started includes clear explanations of what legislators, voters, etc. want in a paper ballot counting system. Organizing this feedback from many different counties or groups around the country is too much for one person, but necessary to get started.

If others could help collect at least some of the following information, it is much easier to get started from the technical side:

a. example ballots from around the country: helps me determine paper dimensions, paper type, distance between bubbles

b. allowed writing utensils: pen, pencil, sharpies, hole-punches, other (?)

c. OK if the ballot had to be held in place on the ballot counter? (think of a paper clipboard) Or does it need to freely move on the ballot counting device?

d. what kind of installation, maintenance, or other educational documentation is needed at each local level?

e. what makes a voter feel most comfortable (lights, display, internet connection, etc.) that would assure them their ballot was counted correctly?

f. Would a voter be comfortable if given two numbers (ballot ID, ballot counter ID) to make sure their vote was counted correctly after they leave the polling place? I hope this would be satisfactory so that no PII (personally identifiable information, such as names, signatures, etc.) need to be digitally recorded.

g. do counties require a removable storage medium (like USB or other?) for chain of custody of the data? Or is it OK if all all digital records be stored on the ballot counting machine permanently?

h. if the ballot counter device permanently stores all data, what is an acceptable cost per machine to re-order a new machine each voting year?

i. how many times does a ballot counting machine get re-used on voting day? In other words, how many paper ballots need to be counted per day?

j. how long is the voting day? 8 hours, 10 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours?

k. are there any pre-election-day auditing tests of the machines to prove they are functioning properly?

m. are there shipping shock / vibration / vandalism / other damage requirements?

n. do any paper ballot counters need to run on battery only, or is there always a wall power plug available?

o. are there requirements for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, blind, or other voter situations?

p. if the electronic paper ballot counting machine did not record any personal information, are passwords needed at all? (By the town, the county, or by the voter?) As an example, a combination of two numbers (ballot counter, paper ballot number, or a number chosen by the voter) could be recorded and provide that person, and only that person, proof their vote was counted correctly. Everyone else would only be able to see the totals of the votes.

q. What exactly is needed to make a paper ballot counter very easily auditable?

r. what other laws or other policies need to be complied with?

Appreciate if anyone is willing to help collaborate online and research these things. If we only had some of the above answers, it would help to create the engineering design documents and order prototypes. After prototypes are tested, we could see if the people feel they have what they want, or if some design adjustments need to be made.

In addition to Gates and Bezos buying up all the farm land, and in addition to paying farmers not to grow food, the best midwest land that remains (that survives droughts) is being covered in less than 20% efficient solar panels no one needs for a 30 to 50 year contract. Numbers I've heard are up to 18,000 acres in just one county.

If you want to help support us to secure U.S. Agriculture and food supply, see details below.
Proverbs 20:4
"The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." (KJV)

-------Details
Since the U.S. has always a net exporter of food, this affects more people than just those in the U.S. Their tactic is a legal way to pay the "baby boomer" generation to retire wealthy, and offering them a lot of money to cover their lands in solar panels. If they succeed, they will further lock up the supply of food globally.

As can be seen by this application, these deep-pocketed businesses blatantly do not care about green energies. They do not study solar farm electrical output at all. They rationalize it is worth it with tax credits (which it isn't if you compare the loss of income from agriculture.)
https://dekalbcounty.org/government/public-hearings/owens-creek-submission-materials/

I am a middle-aged electrical engineer. I love the idea of finding new ways to harness energy, and I am for good projects, good uses of technology - but this is an egregiously bad, wrong application, for many reasons. This is my monologue (begins around 5:00) capturing my concerns about a solar farm installation in Illinois (named Owens Creek) that is privately funded by OMERS (Canadian Pension fund.) A company named Leeward Renewable Energy, LLC, is the front company in the DeKalb County, IL situation. I went long in order to try to be thorough.

The community has had so many concerns that we are effectively filibustering the open hearings. For months, many concerns raised and are still unanswered by the renewable energy company, including:
- there is no need for the electricity (community pays national average for electricity, blackouts are very rare)
- opportunity cost (compare the loss of income from agriculture to in order to get some meager tax credits) is probably negative, and not being considered.
- unaddressed people, cattle, or crop health for surrounding
- the lack of a decommission plan (that is, recycling costs are not evaluated. These may come to many millions of "unanticipated" dollars in a few decades, a huge burden on each individual community.)
- the solar panel waste (whether the panels go into a landfill or are recycled at the end of 30-50 years, who pays for it.)
- EMF or stray voltage concerns (which have been known to ruin milk production, calf births, and pose human health hazards
- security (whether hackers or other Chinese components on the solar panels make them vulnerable to shut down.)
- the human civil rights abuses by the Chinese solar panel companies from which the solar panels are purchased
- why previous farms by same or similar companies had "unanticipated" health hazards that forced people to move (see Brown County case)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wisconsin-town-fighting-giant-wind-farm-thinks-developer-has-abandoned-project-300945227.html
https://forestwindtruth.org/

Word around the U.S. Midwest is (at least Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois), in general (not Leeward specifically), is that these "green" energy front companies are targeting outspoken individuals like me, intimidating, bribing, and serving lawsuits. As far as I can speculate, the goal in the greater Midwest appears to be to pick the best crop land in America and cover it with solar panels. The land that is impervious to drought in several Midwest States is being targeted. The Chinese Communist Party (either directly, or through Canadian companies) probably do not want to destroy the U.S. crop land. They want to unusable for us until they move in.

Apart from fighting legal fees, one possible solution is to make an offer for the owners who want to contract out or sell their land. Some baby boomers simply want to cash out and retire. They would allow their children to have their land, but most children were convinced they needed a college degree instead of a blue collar job like farming. Perhaps the we could set up a share or stake-holding system for people who participate in keeping American agricultural land in the pockets of the American people.

If you wish to help this effort to secure U.S. farmland, I give you my word I will be responsible and transparent with any donations. I apologize that I can only accept Cardano (ADA). You can contact me at [email protected] if you have questions.
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