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10 Nov, 5 tweets, 1 min read
Fact-checking undervotes - where a race shows no vote. Undervotes are normal. Normal percentage of undervotes is 1-2 % of total ballots cast. When # is unusually high, can indicate poor ballot design (causing voters to miss race), machine problem or voter failed to mark correctly
It's not unusual for optical scan machines to miss votes if voter didn't follow directions and fill in oval correctly (or connect arrow completely, depending on ballot style). This can be caught by simply visually examining ballot during adjudication.
Of course this only works if there are hand-marked paper ballots to examine. If there is high % of undervotes where paperless machines were used, there is no way to know for certain if voter intended to leave race blank, if they missed race on ballot or if machine dropped vote.
Georgia didn't have paper backups when the Lt. Governor's race in 2018 experienced a high undervote rate politico.com/story/2019/02/…
Opt-scanners can also miss votes if machines are calibrated poorly and voter makes light marks or uses wrong type of pen/pencil. This is why it's imp to test machines before election and recount. It's not unusual for two machines reading same ballots to detect votes differently.

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More from @KimZetter

Kim Zetter Profile picture
11 Nov
NOTe: This is a risk-limiting audit. It’s NOT a recount being done to appease Trump. It was always planned that Georgia would do a risk-limiting audit of one statewide race this election. It makes sense that the chosen race is the presidential one.
Journalists, if you’re going to write about this, please understand the difference between a recount and an audit. A risk-limiting audit does not recount all the ballots. Officials manually examine only a PERCENTAGE of randomly chosen paper ballots in such an audit.
In this particular case, GA will manually audit ALL of the ballots in the presidential race because of the type of risk-limiting audit they’ve chosen to do and because they chose the presidential race to audit. In risk-limiting audits, the percentage of ballots examined...
Read 19 tweets
Kim Zetter Profile picture
4 Oct
A thread on voting in-person vs. voting by mail. The best way to vote is always going to be voting in person. So if you feel it's safe and you're able to do so, vote in-person if possible. Why? Ballots cast by mail have a greater chance of being rejected. 1/6
You have to follow more directions to vote by mail than in person; any mistake can disqualify yr ballot. 1) You have to sign ballot envelope (and have witness also sign in some states). 2) In some states, like PA, you have to insert your ballot into 2 envelopes not just one. 2/6
3) Election staff have to match the signature on yr absentee envelope w/ sig they have on file for you. If they don't match, states vary in what happens next. Some contact you to give you chance to resolve discrepancy, or "cure" it, as it's called. 3/6
Read 9 tweets
Kim Zetter Profile picture
2 Oct
The Cleveland Clinic - which hosted Tuesday's debate and which failed to enforce the use of masks at the event - say they have traced 11 cases to the event
Statement from Cleveland Clinic about policy: "we had requirements to maintain a safe environment that align with CDC guidelines- including social distancing, hand sanitizing, temperature checks and masking... wkyc.com/article/news/h…
"Most importantly, everyone permitted inside the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 prior to entry. Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested and tested negative by their respective campaigns."
Read 4 tweets
Kim Zetter Profile picture
2 Oct
New: US voters living outside the country are suing election officials in seven states - including critical swing states Wisconsin, PA and Georgia - to force them to let overseas voters return completed ballots electronically, contrary to DHS guidelines. theguardian.com/us-news/2020/o…
Thirty states already let voters return ballots electronically - via email, fax or direct upload. But earlier this year @CISAgov issued guidelines to states warning them the practice is "high risk" and would let hackers alter votes "at scale." theguardian.com/us-news/2020/m…
Ballots returned electronically by overseas voters via email, fax or direct upload not only raise security issues, they also can't be audited, since there is no paper backup election officials can use to compare against the digital ballots and verify they haven't been altered.
Read 4 tweets
Kim Zetter Profile picture
2 Oct
Study finds that contrary to combating Trump's misinfo about mail-in voting, the media has actually helped amplify it. "Trump has perfected the art of harnessing mass media to disseminate and at times reinforce his disinformation campaign" (h/t @thegrugq)
cyber.harvard.edu/publication/20…
To use the media to spread misinformation, Trump exploits three core tenets of journalism: elite institutional focus (if the President says it, it’s news); headline seeking (if it bleeds, it leads); and balance, neutrality, or the avoidance of the appearance of taking a side.
"He uses the first two in combination to summon coverage at will, and has used them continuously to set the agenda surrounding mail-in voting through a combination of tweets, press conferences, and television interviews on Fox News."
Read 4 tweets
Kim Zetter Profile picture
2 Oct
President Trump and Melania have tested positive for the coronavirus after top advisor Hope Hicks fell ill following a campaign trip Wednesday and tested positive nbcnews.com/politics/donal…?
“with just 33 days before the election... if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated...for an unknown period of time. If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all”
There’s also the possibility he or someone in his entourage could have infected Biden. What happens if both candidates are incapacitated for the next four weeks? Does the election continue?
Read 6 tweets

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