[EM] Count-fraud secutity apology to IRV

[Michael Ossipoff]

I owe IRV an apology, in the matter of count-fraud security.

It seems to me that I and others have been unfair to IRV, in the
matter of count-fraud vulnerability.

With N candidates, a national IRV handcount would simply amount to N
Plurality elections.

If a Plurality handcount can be done securely, then N Plurality
handcounts can be done securely, and a national IRV handcount can be
done securely.

Round 1: Each precinct uses each of its ballots to increment a
candidate's top-count tally. Each precinct reports its top-count
totals for each candidate to national central
count headquarters, just as they would in a national Plurality handcount.

The national central count headquarters does its own handcount of the
candidates' top-counts, summing the precinct results for each
candidate, just as they'd do in Plurality. The national handcount
would be like one of the precinct handcounts, with representatives of
each of several parties, from across the political spectrum,
participating  in and observing the count.  ...and televising and
video-recording the count with its own video camera and sound
equipment.

( ..and participating in the guarding of the ballots with its own
video camera and lock. In each precinct, ballots would be stored in a
thickly concrete-walled room whose door had a lock for each of those
parties, observed by a tamper-protected video-camera of each of those
parties.).

And then the national central count headquarters would report its
count result, just as it does now, via the broadcast media, and
additionally via its Internet website.

in particular, of course, it would announce who is eliminated in that round.

The  precinct count-teams would cross the eliminated candidates off,
on the ballots, and would do a new top-count, again using each ballot
to increment a candidate's top-count (the un-eliminated candidate
highest on that ballot).

...etc.

The number of tally marks made per ballot would be roughly similar to
the number in an Approval election.

As I said, I and others have been unfair to IRV, regarding the matter
of count-fraud security.

Mike Ossipoff