Hand Count Arapahoe

Recruiting/Training Materials

Training Presentations and Videos

Training Video

5-minute introduction to the steps of hand counting

Rocky Mountain Method Basic Training

PowerPoint showing the basics of the method (for all participants)

Rocky Mountain Method Advanced Training

PowerPoint showing the details of documentation (for leaders in precincts and anyone else who wants to really know how to hand count)

TRY IT OUT

Hold your own event: download ballots and forms to try out hand counting with a team. Choose the level you are most comfortable with; any of these will cover at least 95% of what you'd be doing in counting an election.

Most Realistic (100 B&W pages, 14 color pages to print for 1 team)

Union of Ballot Counters demo downloads, modeled on forms created to construct the Cast Vote Record for an actual Colorado township election.

Ballot (PDF version, prints in B&W, prints better than the ballot on the Excel worksheet)

Excel worksheet with all other information and printables for holding a demo event. Some of these need to be printed in color.

Note: the chart for printouts required shows the amount needed per team, not per person.

New demos are popping up all over Colorado; latest event schedule is here.

Easiest to Learn, Cheapest to Print (32 B&W pages to print for 1 team)

You Do Count Game

Basic introduction to the main process of hand counting. Downloads a zip folder containing printable materials for the game:

100 marked ballots (20 pages, print 1 time)
tally sheets (1 page, print 8 times)
aggregation sheets (1 page, print 2 times)
script for a trainer to guide a team through the game (2 pages, print 1 time)
optional instructions
optional hand count Did You Know
optional introductory speech

Other equipment to assemble:

2 green markers
2 red markers or pens
2 black pens
4 plastic baggies (gallon size)
2 basic calculators
4 black binder clips (holding 30 pages)
2 rulers or other straightedge

This game helps volunteers understand the general procedures of the Rocky Mountain Method, though an actual election will have extra details such as more chain-of-custody signoffs. 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.

Almost All the Details, Less Intimidating to Learn (33 B&W pages to print for 1 team)

You Do Count Game - Advanced

Includes training on undervotes, overvotes, and vote reconciliation. Downloads a zip folder containing printable materials for the game:

100 marked ballots (5 pages, print 4 times)
tally sheets (1 page, print 8 times)
aggregation sheets (1 page, print 2 times)
script for a trainer to guide a team through the game (3 pages, print 1 time)
optional instructions

Other equipment to assemble:

2 green markers
2 red markers or pens
2 black pens
4 plastic baggies (gallon size)
2 basic calculators
4 black binder clips (holding 30 pages)
2 rulers or other straightedge

The advanced game teaches how to handle unusual situations that do come up in real elections, such as undervotes and overvotes, and how reconciling vote totals becomes a further level of cross-check for accuracy. A real election would also include reconciling the number of ballots before and after the count, and a more detailed chain of custody record, but this version covers almost everything the precinct coordinator would need to know.

This version goes almost as fast as the basic game and can be used for first-timers who are sharp enough not to need gradual introduction to hand counting.

Other Training Helps

Training kits - see picture above. Each box includes everything you might need for training: ballots, tally/aggregation sheets, script for training, recruiting flyers, ballot box, calculator, straightedges, markers, pens, etc. for one tally team. If you'd like to borrow one or more of these for your training session, contact us at info@coloradocountsarapahoe.com

Quick Explainer - Hand Count Challenge

Downloads a zip folder with PDF instructions, 20 marked ballots, and small sheets for tallying and aggregating. This is a small, simplified, pocket-sized version of the You Do Count game, made for a quick demonstration (a few minutes) of how the process cross-checks everything.