ElectionGuard in the November 2022 General Election
New Report to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
Check out our report to the EAC on the Idaho election.
In the Preston, Idaho District #4 General Election, Idaho voters experienced ElectionGuard for the first time. Specifically, they were able to use a confirmation code to see for themselves that their ballot was counted. In total, 40% of voters opted to use the ElectionGuard / Hart option (as opposed to the traditional option of dropping hand-marked paper ballots into a ballot box).
Other vendors contributed services and capabilities to showcase how independent verification of elections work: Hart InterCivic integrated ElectionGuard into its Verity precinct scanners; MITRE wrote an independent verifier; and Enhanced Voting provided the confirmation code lookup service.
Confirmation Code Lookup
Voters were able to confirm that their vote was counted by scanning their confirmation code (or entering the code manually). The election record itself is also available on Enhanced Voting's Confirmation Code Lookup website.
Independent Verification
MITRE wrote an independent verifier for this election to ensure that ElectionGuard was working correctly. You can go to the Verifier site to see a report of mathematical tests of the ElectionGuard specification.
Pilot Q&A's
How was the pilot conducted?
The ElectionGuard pilot ran alongside the normal election processes.
- Voters marked their ballots as usual.
- They used a scanner in the polling place to cast their ballots, instead of putting them in a box to be counted at the election office.
- The scanner showed them a summary of their vote, and then allowed them to cast the ballot, make changes before casting, or opt to run a BallotCheck.
Who was part of the pilot?
The pilot took place in Preston, Idaho District #4 on Election Day. Participation was optional - voters in the district could opt-out of the pilot. Poll workers received extra training so they could support voters using ElectionGuard. Two Election Guardians created the locks and keys to set up ElectionGuard.
How were the votes counted?
The jurisdiction hand-counted the ElectionGuard ballots to record the official tally, but used the results from the ElectionGuard tally and Hart scanner reports as confirmation. The ElectionGuard pilot data was compared to the official results as part of testing the new technology.
What made the pilot a success?
The pilot was as chance to test the technology in a real environment, demonstrating that:
- All the parts of ElectionGuard could work together in a live election
- An independently created Election Verifier could check the results of the tally
- The Hart scanner with ElectionGuard did not add to voting times or create additional lines or backups
The pilot enabled us to learn about the impact on voters, especially whether they:
- Understood the value and benefits of ElectionGuard
- Took the opportunity to confirm that their ballot counted
- Increased their confidence in the accuracy and security of elections.