#ValidateTheVote
#PollTapeProject
ONLINE TRAINING for Poll Tape Project
for Nov 2022 election
Learn all about poll tapes, why they are so valuable, and how to help #ValidateTheVote by going to precincts & county BOE offices to video-record poll tapes using Actual Vote app.
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE DOWNLOADING OR OPENING ACTUAL VOTE APP: USE THIS LINK TO GET HELP
WATCH PREVIOUS TRAINING
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These are the people’s elections & we need your help verifying the receipts.
FAQ:
What is a poll tape?
A poll tape is a receipt that a vote counting machine (aka scanner or tabulator) prints. Tabulators print a portion of the tape upon boot-up, which shows that no ballots have been scanned, yet. After ballots have been scanned and immediately after tabulation is complete, the tabulator adds the election results to the tape. Poll tapes look like long cash register receipts and contain valuable information in addition to the vote totals of each contest.
Why is it helpful for the public to observe these processes and image the poll tapes?
Having members of the public peacefully observe the boot-up of the tabulator and also the tabulation of results helps to increase confidence in elections. The public can verify that certain election processes were done correctly.
Taking a video-recording of poll tapes immediately after they are printed helps increase confidence in the chain of custody of vote totals. When the public is able to verify the results by matching the tape totals to what the state reports, this helps members of the public to verify that no votes were changed or added after tabulation.
Poll tapes help create a record that could assist election officials if there are any discrepancies in the vote totals. It is more likely that discrepancies would be corrected before certification of the election.
Ideally, there should be 1-2 poll tape observers in each voting location who can also video-record the poll tapes.
watch 1 min video below from Florida where discrepancies were found and corrected.
watch 4 min video below from New York where the observers were banned rather than election officials correcting the discrepancies.
read Justice Department press release regarding Pennsylvania - imaging tapes may have caught this type of fraud.
Do I need to be nominated or approved by a political party or candidate to participate?
No, any member of the public has a right to observe certain processes and video-record poll tapes.
Do I need to be certified to observe the process and image tapes?
No, but we highly recommend taking our training from experienced observers who have successfully imaged poll tapes. You will not be a volunteer for Transparent Elections NC, but our training will teach you how to go out on your own to peacefully and legally video-record poll tapes in your jurisdiction to contribute to the crowd-sourcing of NC poll tape imaging.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OBSERVE, PHOTOGRAPH THE OPENING OR CLOSING OF THE TABULATOR, OR VIDEO-RECORD THE ZERO TAPE OR RESULTS POLL TAPES, PLEASE FILE AN INCIDENT REPORT ASAP!
How do I video-record poll tapes and where do I send them?
We recommend using Actual Vote, which is a free app from America Counts. It’s available for iOS or Android. Actual Vote makes it easy to video-record poll tapes and access the results. By crowd-sourcing the work of video-recording all the tapes in NC and other states, we can all do our part to validate the vote.
If you are having issues with the app, please use this link.
iOS
Android
What happens to the poll tape images once I’ve uploaded them via the Actual Vote app?
Poll tape videos from Actual Vote get uploaded to a secure server. After being reviewed and approved, they are posted publicly on https://av.democracycounts.org. These poll tape videos can be used by anyone to verify vote totals and other information on the tape.
When & Where can I image poll tapes?
There are opportunities before, during, & after elections to video-record poll tapes in NC.
o HAPPENING SOON: After logic & accuracy testing at all county BOE offices
o During 1st absentee meeting prior to scanning ballots -- At all county BOE offices
o 1st day of early voting -- 30 min prior to polls opening (check county for time & locations)
o Election day, prior to polls opening (~6am) -- At each precinct polling site
o Immediately after polls close (7:30pm) -- At each precinct polling site
o Election day/night at 2:00pm and/or 7:30 pm -- At County BOE offices/warehouses
o AFTER ELECTION: At Board of Elections offices/warehouses as soon as possible to video-record all original, signed tapes that weren’t imaged on election day/night. (ask county Election Director for dates/times to inspect and image the original, signed poll tapes)
How can I sign up for training?
1. Read through ALL the information on this page
2. Watch video of how to use the ‘Actual Vote’ app
3. Download Actual Vote for iPhone or Actual Vote for Android
4. Register in advance for training session or watch recorded poll tape training video.
ELECTION MORNING
5:55 am
GO TO ANY PRECINCT POLLING LOCATION
1. Hand the Chief Judge, Judges, or poll workers a legal information sheet .
2. Politely ask to be let in to see the zero tape being generated & to see the process of ensuring that no votes are already loaded into the system, either physically or digitally.
* NEW State BOE Guidance states photography / video of the process is no longer allowed and taking a video-recording of the zero tape is no longer allowed.
3. Take a video of the process, including the tabulator, as it is printing the zero tape. There is no photographic prohibition public processes since there are not yet voters inside the polling location and no voted ballots are visible.
3. Do not try to talk to the chief judge during the boot-up process. Do not interrupt the process in any way.
4. Use Actual Vote App to take a short video-recording of the zero tape.
5. The zero tape should not be removed (torn off) from the scanner until after tabulation of votes and printing of results tape(s) when polls close later that night - this is best practice, but not law, yet.
6. If you are denied entry into the voting place
- Do NOT try to go inside without permission from a poll worker
- Remain calm & video tape and/or audio record your interaction if possible
- Upload to SEE SAY public reporting system - incident will be public, but personal info will remain confidential
Remember, do not lose civility! Stay calm and be polite. The poll-worker is likely just doing what they were instructed to do. There will be a chance to remedy the issue the next day and image the tape then.
7. Let us know what happened asap by completing this INCIDENT REPORT FORM to let us know what happened.
8. File a complaint, if necessary.
b.) Consider filing a complaint against the chief judge if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
c.) Consider filing a complaint against the county BOE if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OBSERVE, PHOTOGRAPH THE OPENING OR CLOSING OF THE TABULATOR, OR VIDEO-RECORD THE ZERO TAPE OR RESULTS POLL TAPES, PLEASE FILE AN INCIDENT REPORT ASAP!
ELECTION NIGHT
7:15 pm
GO TO ANY PRECINCT POLLING LOCATION
1. Get in line after the last voter and keep moving to the back of the line. You want to be the last person in line - DO NOT ENTER the voting enclosure, yet.
2. Hand the Chief Judge, Judges or poll workers the legal information sheet in case their county did not inform them of the public's right to witness the vote count.
3. Politely let them know you are not there to vote, but are there to see the tabulation of votes. Let them know you will wait outside until the last voter has placed their ballot in the scanner and left the voting enclosure. Ask that a poll worker come let you inside once the last voter has left so that you can “witness the vote count”.
* NEW State BOE Guidance states photography / video of the process is no longer allowed, but a video-recording of the results tape is allowed.
4. There is no photographic prohibition of public processes since there are no longer voters inside the polling location and voted ballots are not visible. DO NOT interrupt the process in any way. Video of the process, including the tabulator, as it prints the results tape.
5. Use Actual Vote App to take a video-recording of the results poll tape after it has been printed.
6. If you are denied entry into the voting place
- Do NOT try to go inside without permission from a poll worker
- Remain calm & video tape and/or audio record your interaction if possible
- Upload to SEE SAY public reporting system - incident will be public, but personal info will remain confidential
Remember, do not lose civility! Stay calm and be polite. The poll-worker is likely just doing what they were instructed to do. There will be a chance to remedy the issue the next day and image the tape then.
7. Let us know what happened asap by completing this INCIDENT REPORT FORM to let us know what happened.
8. File a complaint, if necessary.
b.) Consider filing a complaint against the chief judge if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
c.) Consider filing a complaint against the county BOE if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
ELECTION NIGHT
7:30 pm or later
GO TO COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS BUILDING/WAREHOUSE
Counties can legally begin to tabulate votes from early voting sites and absentee ballots starting at 2:00 pm on election day.
Once tabulation occurs, the tabulator generates a results poll tape, which has all the vote totals from early voting, including the number of over-votes, under-votes, as well as tabulator configuration information. The vote count is not public until 7:30pm.
Poll tapes are public record after the polls close on election night.
1. Check with your county about their election night meeting schedule.
2. DO NOT interrupt the process at the county board of election meeting in any way.
3. Ask to see the early voting poll tapes & absentee tapes/reports. County Election Directors may not have the resources available to allow for the public view the tapes on election night, but should allow video-recording of tapes as soon as possible.
4. Use Actual Vote App to take a video of the results poll tapes if you are allowed on election night.
5. If you are denied seeing the tapes. Remember, do not lose civility! Stay calm and be polite.
Ask when you can come back to image all the poll tapes/reports. This should be done as close to the election as possible. Some counties will allow imaging first thing the morning after the election. It’s possible that some Election Directors would agree to allow imaging of absentee poll tapes on election night if you put in a request prior to the election.
6. If you are denied entry into the Board of Elections, do NOT try to go inside anyway.
- Remain calm & video tape and/or audio record your interaction if possible
- Upload to SEE SAY public reporting system - incident will be public, but personal info is confidential
Remember, do not lose civility! Stay calm and be polite. The poll-worker is likely just doing what they were instructed to do. There will be a chance to remedy the issue the next day and image the tape then.
7. Let us know what happened asap by completing this INCIDENT REPORT FORM to let us know what happened.
8. File a complaint, if necessary.
b.) Consider filing a complaint against the chief judge if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
c.) Consider filing a complaint against the county BOE if your right to observe or take photos/videos was denied.
PUBLIC OBSERVATION LAWS
NC General Statutes, NC Administrative Code, & NC STEPPS Manual
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08 NCAC 04 .0304
Prior to the opening of the polls, the precinct officials shall open the voting system and examine the ballot for accuracy and examine the counters or other method to determine there is a zero balance. Any persons interested in viewing this procedure may observe but shall not interfere or impede the process.
If the system prints a zero tape or other paper document, the document shall be maintained and secured in the manner prescribed by the manufacturer and the county board of elections. -
CLOSING OF THE PRECINCT POLLING LOCATION:
NCGS § 163-182.2. Initial counting of official ballots.
(a) The initial counting of official ballots shall be conducted according to the following principles:
(1) Vote counting at the precinct shall occur immediately after the polls close and shall be continuous until completed.(2) Vote counting at the precinct shall be conducted with the participation of precinct officials of all political parties then present. Vote counting at the county board of elections shall be conducted in the presence or under the supervision of board members of all political parties then present.
(3) Any member of the public wishing to witness the vote count at any level shall be allowed to do so. No witness shall interfere with the orderly counting of the official ballots. Witnesses shall not participate in the official counting of official ballots.
08 NCAC 10B .0105(h) The counting of the ballots shall be made in the presence of the precinct election officials and witnesses and observers who are present and desire to observe the count. (i) As soon as the votes have been counted and the precinct returns certified, the chief judge, or one of the judges selected by the chief judge, shall do the following: (1) report the total precinct vote for each ballot item to the witnesses and observers who are present.Description text goes here
NC STEPPS Manual:
Ballot Counting. Any member of the public wishing to witness the vote count at any level shall be allowed to do so. No witness shall interfere with the orderly counting of the official ballots. Witnesses shall not participate in the official counting of official ballots. The precinct facility should not be locked so as to prevent public access to the count.
RECORDS REQUESTS FOR POLL TAPES
submit to county BOE
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“I am requesting to video-record (using Actual Vote app), the poll tapes from both early voting tabulators and absentee tabulators. I would like to do this during the Board of Elections meeting at 7:30pm on election night.
If the tapes will not be available to the public for viewing and video-recording on election night, please let me know what date/time they will be available. Thank you.” -
“I am requesting per NC public records law, to come in-person to inspect and image ALL original, signed poll tapes from election day, early voting, and absentee-by-mail voting - including the zero portion of each of the tapes from the______________ Election.
These are established public records in NC and nothing on the tapes are subject to redactions (post certification), including signatures.
Please do not destroy these tapes until you confirm with me via email that I have received the records and that the records released by the BOE are full and complete.
I will have a small group of trained people with me, many of whom have experience imaging these delicate records and all of whom are trained to handle these records. In order to be more efficient with everyone's time, we will have several volunteers working together using tables, small phone stands, and cell phones with a specially designed app that is just for imaging poll tapes and all volunteers will be using gloves when handling poll tapes.
Please let me know some good days and times that would be available for me to come in.
Thank you.” -
Please check your county BOE website to make sure that they have not already put the .pdf of poll tapes online before you submit a request. We do not want to overburden election officials and someone else in your county may have already submitted.
“I am requesting per NC public records law, for a digital copy of ALL original, signed poll tapes from election day, early voting, and absentee-by-mail voting - including the zero portion of each of the tapes from the__________ Election.
These are established public records in NC and nothing on the tapes are subject to redactions (post certification), including signatures.
Please do not destroy these tapes until you confirm with me via email that I have received the records and that the records released by the BOE are full and complete.
Thank you.” -
“I am requesting per NC public records law, digital copies of all poll worker manuals, including all levels of poll officials.
- Chief Judge manual
- Judge manual
- Poll Worker and Poll Assistant manual
These are established public records in NC and help the public to understand the process, which leads to increasded confidence in elections. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.”
NCSBE Guidance on Public Viewing of Opening & Closing Procedures
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https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/sboe/numbermemo/2022/Numbered%20Memo%202022-12%20Maintaining%20Order%20at%20the%20Polls.pdf
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https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/sboe/numbermemo/2022/Numbered%20Memo%202022-14%20Public%20Viewing%20of%20Opening%20and%20Closing%20Procedures.pdf
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https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/election-security/facts/2022v2-tips-monitor-observer-runner-polling-sites.pdfDescription text goes here
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Description text goes herehttps://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Investigations/NC%20Law%20Enforcement%20Guide%20-%202022.10.pdf
IS YOUR COUNTY ILLEGALLY DESTROYING ELECTION RECORDS?
When a ballot is scanned, the tabulator takes an image of the ballot and the software creates a cast vote record (CVR) of each ballot and then allocates votes into a cast vote record database (CVR-DB).
The poll tapes will show if your county is saving or destroying ballot images.
According to the Justice Department, it is illegal to destroy ballot images and CVRs even if your state will not release them to the public. They still must be saved for 22 months.
POLL TAPES DID NOT MATCH
Susan Pynchon, founder of Florida Fair Elections Coalition, shows why the public should verify that totals on the results poll tape match the vote totals that are reported to the state. In this case, election officials corrected the discrepancies.
This short clip is from the documentary "Hacking Democracy". Although the documentary is from 2006, the same type of technology with the same vulnerabilities are still in use throughout the US and in NC.
POLL TAPES DID NOT MATCH
Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director of SMART Elections, and an election security journalist, gives testimony during a public hearing about elections administration and voting rights in New York State.
Lulu shared her experience being an observer with SMART Election’s Brooklyn Transparency Pilot project. Hear about how their efforts were met with hostility and obstruction by the Board of Elections. timestamp: 03:27:57
link to Lulu Friesdat's testimony
GO TO timestamp: 03:27:57
USE ACTUAL VOTE APP to VIDEO-RECORD POLL TAPES
member of the public using Actual Vote app to video-record the poll tape from a precinct on election night
Videos uploaded through Actual Vote are posted publicly soon after they are uploaded.
Many results tapes have already been posted from NC counties for the 2020 election and can be found at: https://av.democracycounts.org
We have volunteers who check the totals of every tape uploaded via the app and compare those with the totals the State BOE reports to the public.
Additionally, we verify & track other valuable information:
date, precinct, serial number of machine, total vote count, total protected count, over-votes and under-votes, vote totals, software version numbers, etc.
Along with the poll tapes, the tabulators also have USB sticks that contains the electronic vote totals. These totals are loaded onto the county Election Management System (EMS) at the county BOE building on election night.
Sometimes errors occur when the USB sticks containing vote totals are loaded onto the EMS. Hacking, computer glitches, or even bugs can alter the electronic vote totals. The public gains confidence in the outcome when we are able to verify the vote count at all levels.
Instructions: making stands to assist with video-recording poll tapes
Use cases:
1. Poll tapes that are video-recorded after polls close at the county BOE on election night.
(You will not need a stand to go on election night to a precinct voting location)
2. Following the election at the county Board of Elections office in the days following the election. It is best to video-record the tapes as close to election night as possible. Keep in mind, after certification, vote totals cannot be corrected if there is a discrepancy.
Recommendation: 3-8 stands per county so people can simultaneously work (depending on county’s size)
Someone in your group or area may need to help make stands to assist in video-recording poll tapes. The stands should be approximately 9 inches tall with a minimum of 4 inches for the opening on the bottom where you will be feeding the poll tape through. There should be a flat surface on top to rest your cell phone and an opening in the top that is approximately 3” x 1.5” to allow the camera lens to focus onto the poll tape, which will be pulled underneath the stand. The camera and stand will not be moving.
examples below: stand made from foam board
Foam Board & Hot Glue Gun Stand
1. Cut one piece of foam board measuring 24” x 12”
2. Mark lines and cut to mach diagram on right.
3. Score (but do NOT cut) fold lines.
4. Cut area for phone camera - approx 1.5” x 3”
5. Fold wings downward.
6. Use a glue gun or clear packing tape to connect sides.
Kathy Maney designed, built & shared stand with TENC. Thank you, Kathy!
step 3
step 5
step 6
