[EM] Cost of Manual Counting vs. Machine Counting

[James Gilmour]

> Brian Olson > Sent: 25 May 2007 16:34
> In most estimates that I think are reasonable, machines come out bad to 
> very bad. Unless you think it's worth paying the premium price for fast 
> election night returns.

It does also depend on the voting system you are using and the version of the rules for that voting
system you are using.  In Northern Ireland the STV counting rules specify the Gregory Method for
transferring surplus votes.  In that method most ballot papers are sorted and counted only once.  In
Scotland the STV counting rules specified the Weighted Inclusive Gregory Method for transferring
surplus votes.  In that method a high proportion of the ballot papers may have to be sorted and
counted several times over.  Quite apart from the time taken in repeated sorting and counting, there
are logistical issues about making sure all the differently valued ballot papers are kept separate
and are handled correctly.  It can be done by hand, but it is certainly much quicker and easier by
computer.  What caused the delays in the recent Scottish elections was the unexpected large numbers
of ballot papers that were submitted for adjudication after scanning, many of which were OK but not
completely within the high level spec set for automatic processing.

James Gilmour