Mailed Ballots Contain Tracking Codes
THE ISSUE:
We expect secret ballots in Vermont. This year, however, there is a unique, machine readable, code printed directly on the ballots that were mailed out.
Try it yourself
Point your cell phone camera at the QR (Data Matrix) code on your ballot. You need good light, hold your phone camera close but not too close, and wait for it to focus. Note: some devices have this capability “built-in” to the camera function. If you don’t get the popup window with the “Text” you will need to install an application or pluggin that supports Data Matrix decoding.
The first part of the code identifies what district you are voting in. The last 6 characters (numbers and/or letters) can be used to identify you personally:
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
The fact that this unique ID number is deliberately exposed through the clear window next to your name should be a dead giveaway. Now the unique code printed on your ballot next to your name and address is public information after it went through the mail.
Both the Printer who assembled the ballot and the USPS have the capability to record the id code and your name using high speed printing and sorting equipment. This has been admitted by a representative from the Vermont Elections Department.
The tabulator used to scan your ballot is literally designed to read codes and record how you voted.
In order to find out exactly how you voted, all that is needed is to combine the two: the QR code is the key to your Name/Address AND how you voted on the ballot. This is a violation of the Vermont Constitution and specifically the Title 17 requirement for Secret Ballots.
In freedom loving America, we demand secret ballots because if someone knows how people vote, they can punish the opposition and reward the loyal party members. For example, if someone can know for sure that you voted with the ruling party, they will give you a promotion. If you voted against them, they will deny your promotion or loan application, charge you higher insurance rates, or any number of things. This is the sort of thing they do in Russia.
WHAT TO DO:
To maintain secrecy about how you vote, do not use the ballot that was mailed to you!
Instead, go to your town clerks office with your defective ballot and envelopes in hand. Ask for a replacement ballot without the identifying QR Code. You can do this before the election and use the drop box (or mail it through the USPS...not recommended). Or, you can wait and get a clean ballot during in-person voting by handing in your defective ballot.
Please tell everyone you can.
What Vermont Law Says
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF VERMONT CHAPTER I. Article 8. [Elections to be free and pure; rights of voters therein] That all elections ought to be free and without corruption, and that all voters, having a sufficient, evident, common interest with, and attachment to the community, have a right to elect officers, and be elected into office, agreeably to the regulations made in this constitution.
17 V.S.A. § 2103
(4) “Australian ballot system” means the technique of having the polls open for voting on specified and warned matters during a warned, extended period, which may be during or after a municipal meeting, or both. An “Australian ballot” means a uniformly printed ballot, typically confined to the secret vote election of specified offices as previously warned to be voted upon by the Australian ballot system. The term “Australian ballot” includes any ballots counted by a vote tabulator approved for use in any election conducted in the State.
17 V.S.A. § 2531
(c) Australian Ballot. Voting by early voter absentee ballot shall be allowed only in elections using the Australian ballot system.
Can We Allow The State To Trample On Our Rights?
It seems evident that all ballots sent out by the VT Secretary Of State which contain these unique identification codes violate the established laws and the Constitution. We can not trust that someone who had access to the ballots being distributed don’t have lists of voter names and id codes. Those who may have such lists include the USPS or Federal Government, any contractor facilities that work for the USPS handling mail, and especially the printers and distributors.
At the Very Least, we need to make it well known throughout our lands so that neighbors are not harmed. No ballots that contain identifiable markings should be allowed to be scanned into tabulators.
Get Involved Today and Help Preserve Democracy for the Next Generation
Download this information as a Printable PDF Handout: Defective Ballots Handout v5