Many voters are questioning the integrity of electronic voting machines after an obscure race for parish sheriff in northwest Louisiana led to a seemingly improbable result. The Democratic candidate, Henry Whitehorn (D), received 21,621 votes and the Republican candidate, John Nickleson (R), got 21,620. John Nickelson, the Republican candidate, announced on social media that he has requested a recount. The Associated Press reported on the race, highlighting Louisiana’s outdated voting machines and their lack of an auditable paper trail, which experts say is critical to ensuring election results are accurate.
During the recount on Monday, only absentee ballots will be counted again and checked for irregularities. Absentee ballots are mailed in and are the only paper trail available under Louisiana’s current voting system. In the case of paperless in-person voting, a recount would be equivalent to pushing the refresh button. David Becker, a former attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division who works with election officials through the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, claimed that a recount of a paperless vote is essentially the equivalent of hitting the button again.
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