> However, it isn't really realistic to do re-counts right now, nor do people do them regularly.
About half of the states require by law a recount by hand at a random selection of voting locations.
> If the people doing the counting are bought then that is an issue too.
That's why you have hostile observers from opposing parties present.
> open source software
So you have the source. Now prove that it is installed at both the client and server. Then prove that the operating system, bootloader, and every other part of the computer you need to trust is actually loading and running your software properly.
Difficulty: Volkswagen showed it's easy evade inspections, and good luck proving anything on a system with Intel ME. Do you know that there isn't an extra core or ROM hidden inside one of the chips?
> > If the people doing the counting are bought then that is an issue too.
> That's why you have hostile observers from opposing parties present.
That's probably why GP wrote "bought", not "asked nicely to miscount in their party's favour".
That said, it's probably a game neither party would like to play too much, as it seems it could spiral out of control and turn into a race to bottom, sucking out more and more party money.
>> That's why you have hostile observers from opposing parties present.
Even though observers are supposed to behave in an impartial and accurate way, partisan observers help ensure accuracy by their partisanship.
If an individual counter is bought by Party A, observers from Parties B and C are there. When the teller puts some of Party C's votes in Party A's pile, Party C is there to bring it to the attention of officials. If it is likely to be close between A and B, and a teller puts a spoiled, party D, or independent paper in A's pile, then B will note it.
Once these things have been raised, they are recorded and read by more officials and observers. That increases the number of people you need to buy off in order to effect a change in the result, which in turn increases the chance of being caught or having to buy off someone who cannot be bought in your favour.
Fundamentally you could buy people off. However you'd need to get the people counting, and the officials, and people in different parties, and not be spotted by any of the public that watch. And then do that again, simultaneously, in thousands of other locations, and not get caught or have anyone you tried to buy out go to the police.
About half of the states require by law a recount by hand at a random selection of voting locations.
> If the people doing the counting are bought then that is an issue too.
That's why you have hostile observers from opposing parties present.
> open source software
So you have the source. Now prove that it is installed at both the client and server. Then prove that the operating system, bootloader, and every other part of the computer you need to trust is actually loading and running your software properly.
Difficulty: Volkswagen showed it's easy evade inspections, and good luck proving anything on a system with Intel ME. Do you know that there isn't an extra core or ROM hidden inside one of the chips?