CURRENT VOTING PROCEDURE
WEAKNESSES

Current Security Deficiencies and Weaknesses
In the past, vote tabulation integrity has been addressed by facilitating vote recounts of paper ballots in the event of a challenge. However, there are several fundamental problems with paper ballots: ​​​​

1. To achieve voter anonymity ballots are separated from voters. If fraudulent paper ballots find their way into an election by adding forged ballots, ballots are tampered with or removed from storage, or improper adjudication occurs, then recounting paper ballots achieves nothing. 
2. The procedure for hierarchically accumulating vote totals after they have been counted at the local level is largely invisible to the general public. This leaves the door open to cheating at various points in the tabulation hierarchy. ​
3. Recounts are labor intensive, time consuming, and can be performed non-uniformly from county to county and state to state.  The process is so wide ranging and variegated that it is impossible to detect many errors and miscounts that occur when people do not follow proper vote counting procedures. 
4. There have been numerous instances of paper ballots not passing voting machine validation checks and requiring manual adjudication.  This process is time consuming, often without an audit trail, and even with an audit trail time constraints and labor unavailability make it impractical to verify adjudication in the event of an election challenge. 

Observe the following diagram and the text that follows for a description of our solution to these problems. 

      

The pink images are points of vulnerability in present voting systems.

Accountable Democracy fundamentally changes the way voting is done and represents a paradigm shift in the vote tabulation procedure.  We have identified a methodology to keep electronic ballots secure while they remain viewable only to the voters who originated them, and while voter anonymity is completely protected.  It allows votes to be cast well in advance of election day, thereby encouraging voter participation, and facilitates a near instantaneous method of counting or recounting ballots. 

This system can pinpoint any alterations to ballots and uses both cryptology and redundancy to achieve security.  And most importantly, we have provided a way to keep our source code publicly viewable and verifiable by a wide range of computer professionals worldwide, and to digitally assure the public of the continuous use of unaltered  programs during the election process. 

While our software products are open to examination and verification (peer reproduction and review) by the public, actual use of the software is licensed. 

Please note this is a backend accounting system which can work with numerous third party voting user interface programs.  We provide an application program interface (API) that these electronic voting systems can use, and another API that state voter registration programs can use. Additionally we provide utility programs for state use for storing and accessing secret voter numbers. 
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We will be working with major accounting firms to certify that elections have been conducted properly. And we are patenting our unique technology.  
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