Why We Vote Ep. 114: Hand Counts vs. Machines – The Election Integrity Showdown

CannCon and Ashe in America are joined by special guest Marilyn Marks of the Coalition for Good Governance for a fiery debate on voting machines, hand counts, and election security. The discussion dives deep into Trump’s push for paper ballots, the reality of electronic tabulators, and the ongoing battle over public trust in elections.

Marilyn makes the case for hand-marked ballots counted by machines, but with rigorous oversight and audits to catch fraud. Ashe and CannCon push back, arguing that centralized, machine-based elections will never regain public trust and that decentralization and precinct-level hand counts are the only real solution.

From Georgia’s Curling v. Raffensperger case to Colorado’s election centralization nightmare, this episode exposes how officials manipulate "oversight" to protect the system, not the voters. They also discuss risk-limiting audits, election vulnerabilities, and why trusting the "code" is a non-starter for true election integrity.

If you care about accurate elections, restoring public trust, and breaking through the gaslighting, this episode is a must-watch.