NH SB43 Forensic Audit: Inside the Windham Election Review
Harri Hursti details the forensic audit of voting tabulators in Windham, New Hampshire under SB43, explaining how mechanical ballot folds skewed scan results.
Summary
Background of the Windham, NH Election Discrepancy
Following a significant vote discrepancy in the 2020 Windham, New Hampshire state representative race, the state legislature mandated a full forensic audit under Senate Bill 43.
Forensic Examination of AccuVote Optical Scan Tabulators
Harri Hursti presents the technical findings from inspecting the AccuVote-OS voting machines, analyzing firmware binaries, memory cards, and physical ballot paths.
Identifying the Root Cause: Mechanical Ballot Folds
Hursti reveals that mechanical ballot folding machines placed creases directly across candidate ovals, causing the optical sensors to register false votes when paper relaxed in storage.
Best Practices for Forensic Audits and Machine Maintenance
The author provides recommendations for rigorous post-election audit procedures, tabulator calibration, and chain of custody controls.
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