I will be quick about this, as I know that if you are reading this, you are ready for an immediate solution to at least some of the issues we have faced in trying to audit our elections in the past 6 years.
We must immediately return to casting all regular ballots by precinct, print hard-copy paper poll books immediately following each voter registration deadline, and end our reliance on electronic poll books to determine eligibility for regular ballots. Electronic systems should be limited to improving voter convenience—such as ballot style assignment and check-in—while paper poll books and photo identification remain the controlling authority for issuing regular ballots, preserving our ability to prevent unlawful ballots from being cast and counted.
These are three NATIONALLY APPLICABLE, TURN-KEY PROPOSALS to consider for restoring a significant amount of security to your home town’s next election cycle:
Option 1 — Full Paper Ballot + ECHO Hand Cont Implementation (Recommended for Smaller Counties)
Hand-Marked, Hand-Counted Paper Ballots Cast by Precinct using Paper Poll Books to Determine Eligibility and assign ballots.
Hand-Marked Ballot Counting: The ECHO Hand Count Method (countwithecho.org)
Preparation Using existing polling locations, some machines, early voting and election day staff, adding Paper Poll Books, Hand-Marked Ballots for eligible voters, and hand counting teams:
Print a HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK immediately after the registration deadline for each precinct.
Deliver the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK to the assigned Early Voting and Elecion Day Locations.
Educate voters on the facts; Vote in your assigned location for a regular ballot, vote anywhere else and you can vote but it will be provisional. Using the epoll books, we can get provisional voters the proper ballot style, but they must cure their identity before their ballot can be approved for counting.
Print the pre-determined number of hand-marked paper ballots.
Consecutively pre-number the ballots (optional security feature., but state law in Texas).
Voter CHECK-IN:
Use the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK for voter check-in. All voters on the list with ID get a regular ballot to hand-mark.
EPoll Books are used only to produce provisional ballots, like a ballot-on-demand printer. Depending on what system your municipality/ ward/ county uses this process can easily be customized.
Ballots to be cast by precinct into assigned ballot boxes without ever being scanned.
Ballots remain grouped by precinct throughout the election.
Counting Process: The ECHO Hand-Count Method (countwithecho.org)
Three-person counting teams count all ballots cast into precinct ballot boxes in batches of 50 ballots (or less in Large Counties with 1M+ Population).
Three-person teams begin to hand count all in-person ballots from Early Voting starting at 7am on Election Day, along with mail-ins and cured provisional ballots, all sorted by precinct.
Three-person teams begin to hand count all in-person ballots from Election Day at polling locations beginning at the lawful time outlined in state statute for counting, or after the close of polls, whichever allows counting to begin sooner.
Lead Election Clerk at each polling location for Early Voting and Election Day will produce precinct-level returns with strong chain of custody, easily available for recounts and audits.
Reconciliation teams will complete precinct returns for larger cumulative reports and will be easily broken down by precinct and verified in a TRUE canvass before certification of results.
Number of counting teams per precinct is determined by a combination of these things: speed of counting method, the number of ballots cast, and the time allotted for precinct returns to be delivered for reporting.
Equipment Used is Already in Place
Electronic Poll Books
Paper Poll Books by precinct (if recently eliminated from your county/state procedures - bring them BACK)
Secure ballot boxes
Election kits (tally sheets, reconciliation forms, chain of custody forms, precinct returns)
No scanners required for this option begin securing elections.
Pros
Maximum auditability.
Preserves ballot secrecy by default.
Strongest chain of custody.
Lowest technology dependence.
Fully transparent public hand count.
Fast precinct-level recount capability.
Cons
Additional counting staff will be required.
At 2+hrs per 50 ballot batch/voting team, the shift could delay reporting in counties with populations of 1M+.
Increased number of provisional ballots initially.
Option 2 — Hand Count the Machine-Marked Ballots (PVRs) Cast By Precinct (Quickest to Hand-Count for Large Counties)
Machine-Marked, Hand-Counted Paper Ballots Cast by Precinct.
Machine-Marked Ballot Counting: The ECHO Hand Count Method (countwithecho.org)
Preparation Using existing polling locations, certain machines, early voting and election day staff, adding only Paper Poll Books and hand counting teams:
Print a HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK immediately after the registration deadline for each precinct.
Deliver the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK to the assigned Early Voting and Elecion Day Locations.
Educate voters on the facts; Vote in your assigned location for a regular ballot, vote anywhere else and you can vote but it will be provisional. Using the epoll books, we can get provisional voters the proper ballot style, but they must cure their identity before their ballot can be approved for counting.
Deliver the usual number of PVR ballot blanks (blank machine-marked ballots).
Consecutively pre-number the ballots (optional security feature, but state law in Texas).
Voter CHECK-IN:
Use the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK for voter check-in. All voters on the list with ID get a regular ballot to mark by machine.
EPoll Books are used only to produce provisional ballots, like a ballot-on-demand printer. Depending on what system your municipality/ ward/ county uses this process can easily be customized.
Ballots to be cast by precinct into assigned ballot boxes without ever being scanned, after voter approves the selections and confirms accuracy.
Ballots remain grouped by precinct throughout the election.
Counting Process: The ECHO Hand-Count Method (countwithecho.org)
Three-person counting teams hand count all ballots cast into precinct ballot boxes in batches of 50 ballots (or less in Large Counties with 1M+ Population).
Three-person teams begin to hand count all in-person ballots from Early Voting starting at 7am on Election Day, along with mail-ins and cured provisional ballots, all sorted by precinct.
Three-person teams begin to hand count all in-person ballots from Election Day at polling locations beginning at the lawful time outlined in state statute for counting, or after the close of polls, whichever allows counting to begin sooner.
Lead Election Clerk at each polling location for Early Voting and Election Day will produce precinct-level returns with strong chain of custody, easily available for recounts and audits.
Reconciliation teams will complete precinct returns for larger cumulative reports and will be easily broken down by precinct and verified in a TRUE canvass before certification of results.
Number of counting teams per precinct is determined by a combination of these things: speed of counting method, the number of ballots cast, and the time allotted for precinct returns to be delivered for reporting.
Equimpent Used is Already In Place.
Ballot Marking Devices
Electronic Poll Books
Paper Poll Books
Secure ballot boxes
Election kits
No tabulation scanners.
Pros
Minimal voter process changes.
Eliminates reliance on electronic tabulation.
Preserves precinct reporting.
Strengthens chain of custody.
Publicly auditable hand count.
Cons
Additional counting staff will be required.
At 1.5hrs per 50 ballot batch/voting team, the shift could delay reporting in counties with populations of 1M+.
Increased number of provisional ballots initially.
Minimal reliance on voting system technology.
Option 3 — Ballots Cast By Precinct, Counted by Scanner (Simplest Method to Return to Voting By Precinct Immediately - Last Resort Option)
Machine-Marked, Machine-Counted Paper Ballots Cast by Precinct.
Using existing polling locations, PVRs (machine-marked ballots), scanners, early voting and election day staff, adding only Paper Poll Books to determine eligibility for reguar vs provisional ballots:
Print a HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK immediately after the registration deadline for each precinct.
Deliver the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK to the assigned Early Voting and Elecion Day Locations.
Educate voters on the facts; Vote in your assigned location for a regular ballot, vote anywhere else and you can vote but it will be provisional. Using the epoll books, we can get provisional voters the proper ballot style, but they must cure their identity before their ballot can be approved for counting.
Print the pre-determined number of hand-marked paper ballots.
Consecutively pre-number the ballots (optional security feature., but state law in Texas).
Voter CHECK-IN:
Use the HARD COPY PAPER POLL BOOK for voter check-in. All voters on the list with ID get a regular ballot to hand-mark.
EPoll Books are used only to produce provisional ballots, like a ballot-on-demand printer. Depending on what system your municipality/ ward/ county uses this process can easily be customized.
Ballots to be cast by precinct into assigned ballot boxes without ever being scanned.
Ballots remain grouped by precinct throughout the election.
Counting Method: Scanner/Tabulator
Scan ballots by precinct.
Produce separate precinct reports.
Maintain physical ballot records by precinct for audits and recounts.
Reconciliation teams will complete precinct returns for larger cumulative reports and will be easily broken down by precinct and verified in a TRUE canvass before certification of results.
Equipment Used is Already in Place
Ballot Marking Devices
Precinct optical scanners
Electronic Poll Books
Paper Poll Books
Secure ballot boxes
Election Kits
Pros
Minimal operational changes.
Restores precinct-level reporting.
Improves chain of custody over countywide mixing.
Faster election night reporting.
Allows meaningful audits using precinct-specific ballot batches.
Cons
Greatest reliance on voting system technology of the three options.
Scanner/tabulator use not ideal.
Common Features (All Options)
Precinct-assigned polling locations.
Countywide voting preserved through provisional ballots.
Electronic Poll Books used for voter check-in and ballot style assignment ONLY.
Paper Poll Books used to determine regular ballot eligibility.
Ballots maintained by precinct.
Public voter education campaign.
Online precinct lookup tool.
Compliance with federal paper trail and record retention requirements.
Compliance with State party primary election laws governing party authority, provisional voting, ballot secrecy, and precinct reporting.
EARLY VOTING and ELECTION DAY run Identically: Ballots Cast by Precinct with Provisional Ballots being used to satisfy any countywide access requirements for either period during an election cycle.
Voter Check-In/ Ballot Issuance for ALL THREE OPTIONS
1. Regular Ballots
A voter receives a regular ballot when they:
Vote at their assigned polling location.
Present an acceptable photo ID (or otherwise satisfy Texas identification requirements).
Appear on the precinct paper poll book.
Regular ballots are cast and counted with that precinct’s election returns.
2. Provisional Ballots
A voter receives a provisional ballot if they:
Vote at a polling location other than their assigned location or;
Are not listed on the precinct paper poll book.
Do not present lawful photo identification.
Using the electronic poll books, election workers will issue the voter the correct ballot style regardless of where they vote, however only voters with proper ID and who appear on the list of eligible voters will be given a regular ballot. Anyone outside of this criteria will vote a provisional ballot, without exception. Provisional ballots satisfy countywide access when used in the proper way, they allow all voters the chance to cast their ballot while affording election staff the chance to prevent unlawful ballots from being cast.
Once the provisional voter successfully verifies their eligibility and identity through the normal provisional ballot review process, the ballot is approved and counted in accordance with State statute.
Voter Access Issues RESOLVED:
No eligible voter is denied the opportunity to vote.
Voters may cast a provisional ballot at any polling location.
Even distribution of assigned voters will reduce lines and wait times.
Electronic poll books ensure every voter receives the correct ballot style.
Paper poll books determine eligibility for a regular precinct ballot.
Precinct Ballots are cast and kept together for Early Voting and Election Day; Ballot Secrecy is restored.
Post-election redactions are rendered pointless; Auditability is restored.
Chain of Custody is strengthened for precinct returns; Trust is restored.
General Implementation Considerations
Early Voting & Election Day
Apply the same precinct-based procedures during both Early Voting and Election Day.
Use identical voter check-in, ballot issuance, chain of custody, and reporting procedures throughout the voting period.
Preserve precinct-level ballot accounting from the time a ballot is cast until final certification.
Polling Location Assignments
Assign voters to polling locations nearest their registered residence, close large-scale “vote-centers” immediately.
Balance precinct assignments to create more uniform voter traffic across all polling locations and to produce more consistent ballot volumes and hand-count workloads at each polling location.
Improve staffing efficiency by distributing expected turnout more evenly among locations.
Transition Period
Expect an initial increase in provisional ballots while voters become familiar with their assigned polling locations.
Electronic poll books ensure every voter receives the correct ballot style regardless of location.
Once voter eligibility and identity are verified under existing provisional ballot procedures, eligible provisional ballots are approved and counted.
As voters transition to their assigned polling locations, provisional ballot usage is expected to decline.
TBTR.US Precinct Mapping
TBTR.US precinct-based voting maps are designed using each state’s and county’s existing election infrastructure.
Existing polling locations are retained whenever practical.
Precinct assignments are optimized to balance voter volume while preserving precinct-based reporting.
Security Benefits
Implementation of any of these three options immediately strengthens several fundamental election security measures by restoring the ABCs of Election Security:
Auditability
Ballot Secrecy
Chain of Custody
Thank you, Patriots, I am available for a small fee to consult and guide you through your efforts in restoring election security in YOUR home town.
Email me at takingtxback@gmail.com to book a consultation!
All Rights Reserved
Hand-Count Strategy by Precinct ‘26
Aubree
TBTR Strategies
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