Hand Count Method

There are many hand count methods which have been tested in various situations. The one used most in Colorado, known as the Rocky Mountain Method, is closely related to the A-Count-Able and Gold Standard Elections methods. Although all the methods keep changing as good ideas spread across the movement, the current unique features of the Rocky Mountain Method are that it is inexpensive, relying on "office supplies and many eyes", and that the aggregation team, like the tally team, is made up of four people so that every step is at least double-checked. 

Method

The Rocky Mountain Method has three main steps, carried out by teams of two or four, then a team of two posts the results and passes them up to the city/county level to add to other precinct results. Everything that happens is checked by at least one other person.

 

Step 1: Batching - divide the ballots into groups (batches) of 25 or less.

Step 2: Tallying - record the votes from the batch on a pair of tally sheets.

Step 3: Aggregating - aggregate (add them all together) the totals from the tally sheets.

Step 4: Post the results!

 

For a large number of ballots, the tallying step takes longest, but this step can easily be speeded up by adding more four-person teams. A precinct team of 10 allows two tally teams to work in parallel, with a couple others for runners/overhead/spare people to switch with anyone who becomes tired.

Roles

Precinct Coordinators (who could be, but don't have to be, the local party precinct leaders or precinct captains) are the most important people in the process; these people organize and lead the hand count team of 10+ for the precinct. Precinct Coordinators are assisted by Area Leads, who distribute supplies and information and help them find volunteers. The Area Leads in turn are assisted by the County Lead.

 

Training

Detailed training is being developed for Precinct Coordinators, but the hand counting system is simple enough that the precinct hand count team can get the general idea of what they're doing, and practice the mechanics of it, by playing the You Do Count game. (Link downloads the zip folder with PDF instructions, 100 marked ballots, and sheets for tallying and aggregating.) Allow 1-2 hours for playing the game with 100 ballots the first time; people often take 25 minutes to count the first 25 ballots but usually get much faster with the second batch. 

 

To introduce potential volunteers to the idea of how fast and accurate the method is, here is a pocket-sized Hand Count Challenge four people can go through in a few minutes. (Link downloads the zip folder with PDF instructions, 20 marked ballots, and small sheets for tallying and aggregating.)