In response to growing concerns about election integrity, Utah citizens developed Verify Vote, an independent platform at vvote.org. Verify Vote isn’t digital voting, but it supports paper ballots and hand counting by providing a way for voters to independently verify their votes. It doesn’t offer real-time tally updates, but allows voters to store an image of their ballot for comparison against the official count. The more people use Verify Vote, the stronger its ability to hold the state accountable.
How Verify Vote Works
After filling out your paper ballot, take a picture of it and provide your driver’s license number, which remains private and can’t be accessed by civilians. Your ballot image is securely stored and only accessible for official third-party audits or legal challenges—not for public access or unofficial purposes. This ensures your vote is counted accurately and adds a layer of accountability to the process.
The Benefits of Verify Vote
1. Independent vote verification. Verify Vote allows you to verify your vote independently by comparing a digital copy of your paper ballot with the official tally, ensuring your vote is counted correctly.
2. Accountability and legal security. In case of an election dispute, your ballot image can be used in official audits or legal challenges. Verify Vote ensures your data is secure and only used for these purposes.
3. Strength in numbers. Increased participation enhances Verify Vote’s effectiveness by providing a larger pool of ballots for comparison, making the system more robust and transparent.
4. Supports paper ballots and digital storage. Verify Vote champions the use of paper ballots and believes in the value of hand counting, even though Utah currently uses machine counting. The platform stores a digital image of each ballot, adding transparency and acting as a safeguard against potential errors in the machine count.
5. Restoring faith in voting: For voters who feel disillusioned, Verify Vote offers a way to confirm their vote was counted, helping to restore trust and encouraging more participation.
Verify Vote provides Utah voters with a means to verify their paper ballots and compare them to the official tally, ensuring transparency and holding the state accountable. Created by concerned citizens, as a citizen-driven initiative, Verify Vote relies on community support through donations to maintain its mission of election transparency.
The platform securely stores ballot images for audits or legal challenges, strengthening the integrity of elections. Increased participation makes the system more effective, offering a path to accountability and trusted elections. Through donations and active use, voters can contribute to election transparency in Utah. When Utahans receive their ballot this October, use VVOTE.ORG to do your part!
Submitted By Matt Field
