Can Voters Detect Errors on Their Printed Ballots? Absolutely Article Swipe

PDF

Philip Kortum , Michael D. Byrne , Chidera O. Azubike , Laura E. Roty ·

YOU? · · 2022 · Open Access · · DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780

There is still debate on whether voters can detect malicious changes in their printed ballot after making their selections on a Ballot Marking Device (BMD). In this study, we altered votes on a voter's ballot after they had made their selections on a BMD. We then required them to examine their ballots for any changes from the slate they used to vote. Overall accuracy was exceptionally high. Participants saw 1440 total contests, and of those 1440, there were a total of 4 errors, so total accuracy was 99.8%. Participants were able to perform with near-perfect accuracy regardless of ballot length, ballot type, number of altered races, and location of altered races. Detection performance was extremely robust. We conclude that with proper direction and resources, voters can be near-perfect detectors of ballot changes on printed paper ballots after voting with a BMD. This finding has significant implications for the voting community as BMD use continues to grow. Research should now focus on identifying administrative and behavioral methods that will prompt and encourage voters to check their BMD-generated ballots before they drop them in the ballot box.

Related Topics

Concepts

Ballot Voting Spoilt vote Computer science Computer security Political science Law Group voting ticket Politics

Metadata

Type: preprint
Language: en
Landing Page: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09780
PDF: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780
OA Status: green
Cited By: 1
Related Works: 10
OpenAlex ID: https://openalex.org/W4224321654

All OpenAlex metadata

Raw OpenAlex JSON

OpenAlex ID: https://openalex.org/W4224321654

Canonical identifier for this work in OpenAlex
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780

Digital Object Identifier
Title: Can Voters Detect Errors on Their Printed Ballots? Absolutely

Work title
Type: preprint

OpenAlex work type
Language: en

Primary language
Publication year: 2022

Year of publication
Publication date: 2022-04-20

Full publication date if available
Authors: Philip Kortum, Michael D. Byrne, Chidera O. Azubike, Laura E. Roty

List of authors in order
Landing page: https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09780

Publisher landing page
PDF URL: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780

Direct link to full text PDF
Open access: Yes

Whether a free full text is available
OA status: green

Open access status per OpenAlex
OA URL: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780

Direct OA link when available
Concepts: Ballot, Voting, Spoilt vote, Computer science, Computer security, Political science, Law, Group voting ticket, Politics

Top concepts (fields/topics) attached by OpenAlex
Cited by: 1

Total citation count in OpenAlex
Citations by year (recent): 2023: 1

Per-year citation counts (last 5 years)
Related works (count): 10

Other works algorithmically related by OpenAlex

Full payload

id	https://openalex.org/W4224321654
doi	https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780
ids.doi	https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780
ids.openalex	https://openalex.org/W4224321654
fwci
type	preprint
title	Can Voters Detect Errors on Their Printed Ballots? Absolutely
biblio.issue
biblio.volume
biblio.last_page
biblio.first_page
topics[0].id	https://openalex.org/T11598
topics[0].field.id	https://openalex.org/fields/17
topics[0].field.display_name	Computer Science
topics[0].score	0.9976999759674072
topics[0].domain.id	https://openalex.org/domains/3
topics[0].domain.display_name	Physical Sciences
topics[0].subfield.id	https://openalex.org/subfields/1702
topics[0].subfield.display_name	Artificial Intelligence
topics[0].display_name	Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
topics[1].id	https://openalex.org/T11045
topics[1].field.id	https://openalex.org/fields/33
topics[1].field.display_name	Social Sciences
topics[1].score	0.9754999876022339
topics[1].domain.id	https://openalex.org/domains/2
topics[1].domain.display_name	Social Sciences
topics[1].subfield.id	https://openalex.org/subfields/3312
topics[1].subfield.display_name	Sociology and Political Science
topics[1].display_name	Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
topics[2].id	https://openalex.org/T12262
topics[2].field.id	https://openalex.org/fields/17
topics[2].field.display_name	Computer Science
topics[2].score	0.9639000296592712
topics[2].domain.id	https://openalex.org/domains/3
topics[2].domain.display_name	Physical Sciences
topics[2].subfield.id	https://openalex.org/subfields/1702
topics[2].subfield.display_name	Artificial Intelligence
topics[2].display_name	Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection
is_xpac	False
apc_list
apc_paid
concepts[0].id	https://openalex.org/C2777094542
concepts[0].level	4
concepts[0].score	0.9835765361785889
concepts[0].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q905151
concepts[0].display_name	Ballot
concepts[1].id	https://openalex.org/C520049643
concepts[1].level	3
concepts[1].score	0.6910990476608276
concepts[1].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189760
concepts[1].display_name	Voting
concepts[2].id	https://openalex.org/C20871130
concepts[2].level	5
concepts[2].score	0.43848320841789246
concepts[2].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2738441
concepts[2].display_name	Spoilt vote
concepts[3].id	https://openalex.org/C41008148
concepts[3].level	0
concepts[3].score	0.40356940031051636
concepts[3].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198
concepts[3].display_name	Computer science
concepts[4].id	https://openalex.org/C38652104
concepts[4].level	1
concepts[4].score	0.3388168215751648
concepts[4].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3510521
concepts[4].display_name	Computer security
concepts[5].id	https://openalex.org/C17744445
concepts[5].level	0
concepts[5].score	0.29776063561439514
concepts[5].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36442
concepts[5].display_name	Political science
concepts[6].id	https://openalex.org/C199539241
concepts[6].level	1
concepts[6].score	0.2045115828514099
concepts[6].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7748
concepts[6].display_name	Law
concepts[7].id	https://openalex.org/C143838007
concepts[7].level	4
concepts[7].score	0.15172243118286133
concepts[7].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5611276
concepts[7].display_name	Group voting ticket
concepts[8].id	https://openalex.org/C94625758
concepts[8].level	2
concepts[8].score	0.0
concepts[8].wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7163
concepts[8].display_name	Politics
keywords[0].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/ballot
keywords[0].score	0.9835765361785889
keywords[0].display_name	Ballot
keywords[1].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/voting
keywords[1].score	0.6910990476608276
keywords[1].display_name	Voting
keywords[2].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/spoilt-vote
keywords[2].score	0.43848320841789246
keywords[2].display_name	Spoilt vote
keywords[3].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science
keywords[3].score	0.40356940031051636
keywords[3].display_name	Computer science
keywords[4].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-security
keywords[4].score	0.3388168215751648
keywords[4].display_name	Computer security
keywords[5].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/political-science
keywords[5].score	0.29776063561439514
keywords[5].display_name	Political science
keywords[6].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/law
keywords[6].score	0.2045115828514099
keywords[6].display_name	Law
keywords[7].id	https://openalex.org/keywords/group-voting-ticket
keywords[7].score	0.15172243118286133
keywords[7].display_name	Group voting ticket
language	en
locations[0].id	pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2204.09780
locations[0].is_oa	True
locations[0].source.id	https://openalex.org/S4306400194
locations[0].source.issn
locations[0].source.type	repository
locations[0].source.is_oa	True
locations[0].source.issn_l
locations[0].source.is_core	False
locations[0].source.is_in_doaj	False
locations[0].source.display_name	arXiv (Cornell University)
locations[0].source.host_organization	https://openalex.org/I205783295
locations[0].source.host_organization_name	Cornell University
locations[0].source.host_organization_lineage	https://openalex.org/I205783295
locations[0].license
locations[0].pdf_url	https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780
locations[0].version	submittedVersion
locations[0].raw_type	text
locations[0].license_id
locations[0].is_accepted	False
locations[0].is_published	False
locations[0].raw_source_name
locations[0].landing_page_url	http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09780
locations[1].id	doi:10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780
locations[1].is_oa	True
locations[1].source.id	https://openalex.org/S4306400194
locations[1].source.issn
locations[1].source.type	repository
locations[1].source.is_oa	True
locations[1].source.issn_l
locations[1].source.is_core	False
locations[1].source.is_in_doaj	False
locations[1].source.display_name	arXiv (Cornell University)
locations[1].source.host_organization	https://openalex.org/I205783295
locations[1].source.host_organization_name	Cornell University
locations[1].source.host_organization_lineage	https://openalex.org/I205783295
locations[1].license
locations[1].pdf_url
locations[1].version
locations[1].raw_type	article
locations[1].license_id
locations[1].is_accepted	False
locations[1].is_published
locations[1].raw_source_name
locations[1].landing_page_url	https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2204.09780
indexed_in	arxiv, datacite
authorships[0].author.id	https://openalex.org/A5011364586
authorships[0].author.orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0460-179X
authorships[0].author.display_name	Philip Kortum
authorships[0].author_position	first
authorships[0].raw_author_name	Kortum, Philip
authorships[0].is_corresponding	False
authorships[1].author.id	https://openalex.org/A5052030178
authorships[1].author.orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0677-9329
authorships[1].author.display_name	Michael D. Byrne
authorships[1].author_position	middle
authorships[1].raw_author_name	Byrne, Michael D.
authorships[1].is_corresponding	False
authorships[2].author.id	https://openalex.org/A5063422904
authorships[2].author.orcid
authorships[2].author.display_name	Chidera O. Azubike
authorships[2].author_position	middle
authorships[2].raw_author_name	Azubike, Chidera O.
authorships[2].is_corresponding	False
authorships[3].author.id	https://openalex.org/A5059361058
authorships[3].author.orcid
authorships[3].author.display_name	Laura E. Roty
authorships[3].author_position	last
authorships[3].raw_author_name	Roty, Laura E.
authorships[3].is_corresponding	False
has_content.pdf	False
has_content.grobid_xml	False
is_paratext	False
open_access.is_oa	True
open_access.oa_url	https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780
open_access.oa_status	green
open_access.any_repository_has_fulltext	False
created_date	2025-10-10T00:00:00
display_name	Can Voters Detect Errors on Their Printed Ballots? Absolutely
has_fulltext	False
is_retracted	False
updated_date	2025-11-06T06:51:31.235846
primary_topic.id	https://openalex.org/T11598
primary_topic.field.id	https://openalex.org/fields/17
primary_topic.field.display_name	Computer Science
primary_topic.score	0.9976999759674072
primary_topic.domain.id	https://openalex.org/domains/3
primary_topic.domain.display_name	Physical Sciences
primary_topic.subfield.id	https://openalex.org/subfields/1702
primary_topic.subfield.display_name	Artificial Intelligence
primary_topic.display_name	Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
related_works	https://openalex.org/W2287483166, https://openalex.org/W3108154034, https://openalex.org/W3092776458, https://openalex.org/W3205928808, https://openalex.org/W3095906552, https://openalex.org/W2989925357, https://openalex.org/W2066466671, https://openalex.org/W3013294660, https://openalex.org/W4233685637, https://openalex.org/W3205136307
cited_by_count	1
counts_by_year[0].year	2023
counts_by_year[0].cited_by_count	1
locations_count	2
best_oa_location.id	pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2204.09780
best_oa_location.is_oa	True
best_oa_location.source.id	https://openalex.org/S4306400194
best_oa_location.source.issn
best_oa_location.source.type	repository
best_oa_location.source.is_oa	True
best_oa_location.source.issn_l
best_oa_location.source.is_core	False
best_oa_location.source.is_in_doaj	False
best_oa_location.source.display_name	arXiv (Cornell University)
best_oa_location.source.host_organization	https://openalex.org/I205783295
best_oa_location.source.host_organization_name	Cornell University
best_oa_location.source.host_organization_lineage	https://openalex.org/I205783295
best_oa_location.license
best_oa_location.pdf_url	https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780
best_oa_location.version	submittedVersion
best_oa_location.raw_type	text
best_oa_location.license_id
best_oa_location.is_accepted	False
best_oa_location.is_published	False
best_oa_location.raw_source_name
best_oa_location.landing_page_url	http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09780
primary_location.id	pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2204.09780
primary_location.is_oa	True
primary_location.source.id	https://openalex.org/S4306400194
primary_location.source.issn
primary_location.source.type	repository
primary_location.source.is_oa	True
primary_location.source.issn_l
primary_location.source.is_core	False
primary_location.source.is_in_doaj	False
primary_location.source.display_name	arXiv (Cornell University)
primary_location.source.host_organization	https://openalex.org/I205783295
primary_location.source.host_organization_name	Cornell University
primary_location.source.host_organization_lineage	https://openalex.org/I205783295
primary_location.license
primary_location.pdf_url	https://arxiv.org/pdf/2204.09780
primary_location.version	submittedVersion
primary_location.raw_type	text
primary_location.license_id
primary_location.is_accepted	False
primary_location.is_published	False
primary_location.raw_source_name
primary_location.landing_page_url	http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09780
publication_date	2022-04-20
publication_year	2022
referenced_works_count	0
abstract_inverted_index.4	81
abstract_inverted_index.a	20, 32, 42, 78, 139
abstract_inverted_index.In	25
abstract_inverted_index.We	44, 116
abstract_inverted_index.as	150
abstract_inverted_index.be	126
abstract_inverted_index.in	11, 181
abstract_inverted_index.is	1
abstract_inverted_index.of	73, 80, 97, 103, 108, 129
abstract_inverted_index.on	4, 19, 31, 41, 132, 160
abstract_inverted_index.so	83
abstract_inverted_index.to	48, 60, 91, 154, 172
abstract_inverted_index.we	28
abstract_inverted_index.BMD	151
abstract_inverted_index.and	72, 106, 122, 163, 169
abstract_inverted_index.any	53
abstract_inverted_index.can	7, 125
abstract_inverted_index.for	52, 146
abstract_inverted_index.had	37
abstract_inverted_index.has	143
abstract_inverted_index.now	158
abstract_inverted_index.saw	68
abstract_inverted_index.the	56, 147, 182
abstract_inverted_index.use	152
abstract_inverted_index.was	64, 86, 113
abstract_inverted_index.1440	69
abstract_inverted_index.BMD.	43, 140
abstract_inverted_index.This	141
abstract_inverted_index.able	90
abstract_inverted_index.box.	184
abstract_inverted_index.drop	179
abstract_inverted_index.from	55
abstract_inverted_index.made	38
abstract_inverted_index.that	118, 166
abstract_inverted_index.them	47, 180
abstract_inverted_index.then	45
abstract_inverted_index.they	36, 58, 178
abstract_inverted_index.this	26
abstract_inverted_index.used	59
abstract_inverted_index.were	77, 89
abstract_inverted_index.will	167
abstract_inverted_index.with	93, 119, 138
abstract_inverted_index.1440,	75
abstract_inverted_index.There	0
abstract_inverted_index.after	15, 35, 136
abstract_inverted_index.check	173
abstract_inverted_index.focus	159
abstract_inverted_index.grow.	155
abstract_inverted_index.high.	66
abstract_inverted_index.paper	134
abstract_inverted_index.slate	57
abstract_inverted_index.still	2
abstract_inverted_index.their	12, 17, 39, 50, 174
abstract_inverted_index.there	76
abstract_inverted_index.those	74
abstract_inverted_index.total	70, 79, 84
abstract_inverted_index.type,	101
abstract_inverted_index.vote.	61
abstract_inverted_index.votes	30
abstract_inverted_index.(BMD).	24
abstract_inverted_index.99.8%.	87
abstract_inverted_index.Ballot	21
abstract_inverted_index.Device	23
abstract_inverted_index.ballot	14, 34, 98, 100, 130, 183
abstract_inverted_index.before	177
abstract_inverted_index.debate	3
abstract_inverted_index.detect	8
abstract_inverted_index.making	16
abstract_inverted_index.number	102
abstract_inverted_index.prompt	168
abstract_inverted_index.proper	120
abstract_inverted_index.races,	105
abstract_inverted_index.races.	110
abstract_inverted_index.should	157
abstract_inverted_index.study,	27
abstract_inverted_index.voters	6, 124, 171
abstract_inverted_index.voting	137, 148
abstract_inverted_index.Marking	22
abstract_inverted_index.Overall	62
abstract_inverted_index.altered	29, 104, 109
abstract_inverted_index.ballots	51, 135, 176
abstract_inverted_index.changes	10, 54, 131
abstract_inverted_index.errors,	82
abstract_inverted_index.examine	49
abstract_inverted_index.finding	142
abstract_inverted_index.length,	99
abstract_inverted_index.methods	165
abstract_inverted_index.perform	92
abstract_inverted_index.printed	13, 133
abstract_inverted_index.robust.	115
abstract_inverted_index.voter's	33
abstract_inverted_index.whether	5
abstract_inverted_index.Research	156
abstract_inverted_index.accuracy	63, 85, 95
abstract_inverted_index.conclude	117
abstract_inverted_index.location	107
abstract_inverted_index.required	46
abstract_inverted_index.Detection	111
abstract_inverted_index.community	149
abstract_inverted_index.contests,	71
abstract_inverted_index.continues	153
abstract_inverted_index.detectors	128
abstract_inverted_index.direction	121
abstract_inverted_index.encourage	170
abstract_inverted_index.extremely	114
abstract_inverted_index.malicious	9
abstract_inverted_index.behavioral	164
abstract_inverted_index.regardless	96
abstract_inverted_index.resources,	123
abstract_inverted_index.selections	18, 40
abstract_inverted_index.identifying	161
abstract_inverted_index.performance	112
abstract_inverted_index.significant	144
abstract_inverted_index.Participants	67, 88
abstract_inverted_index.implications	145
abstract_inverted_index.near-perfect	94, 127
abstract_inverted_index.BMD-generated	175
abstract_inverted_index.exceptionally	65
abstract_inverted_index.administrative	162
cited_by_percentile_year
countries_distinct_count	0
institutions_distinct_count	4
sustainable_development_goals[0].id	https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16
sustainable_development_goals[0].score	0.7200000286102295
sustainable_development_goals[0].display_name	Peace, Justice and strong institutions
citation_normalized_percentile