Americans don’t trust our election system. This distrust has been growing since the HAVA Act was instituted in 2002. The HAVA Act subsidized the purchase of computerized electronic voting systems, with many components manufactured overseas. Today’s system is highly complex and vulnerable, making it hard for election workers and voters to understand. We must simplify by returning to a system of people, paper, and pens with some modern twists. The best way forward is to remove electronics from all four phases of the system—Voter Registration, Voter Validation, Marking and Counting of the ballots, and Reporting of the Results. While technology such as video recording of the counting is preferred, it is not necessary. The Gold Standard achieves this by enhancing accessibility to qualified voters, security of the physical ballots, vote transparency, and results verifiability. The Gold Standard is a system “for the people by the people.”

We provide recommendations to improve all four areas of the election system in our whitepaper.

Each state must try to incorporate these into its election laws. We recommend that Congress abolish all federal election laws like HAVA (the Help Amerca Vote Act), NVRA (National Voter Registration Act), and UOCAVA (Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act)

Here is a summary of the recommendations

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 free of charge, downloadable online-Active, inactive, archived

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
• Voter 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 by LEO 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
• Sequentially numbered but random (pick a card)
• Observable by the public and live-streamed and/or recorded if possible
• Strong chain of custody measures
• Public access to chain of custody docs
• Procedures for COC must be published and election workers trained
• Absentee balloting-minimal and also sorted and counted at their precinct (secure transfer from county)
  • Do not open absentee ballots until counting commences
  • Sequential numbering used to track and reconcile prior to count
• Disability provisions – ADA and curbside

Phase 4: Election Night Results Reporting: controls what results are  ultimately reported and certified in a timely manner

• Tally results are provided on summary totals sheets, which are then sealed and 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 tally sheets, ballots, 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