Psēphisma · Psephos · Paper IV of V · In Preparation

Counting the Pebble

Beyond argument once counted

by James Wolstencroft


The unassailable vote. The case against electronic voting is formidable and made by serious people (Rivest, Halderman, and the auditors of Estonia’s system among them), so this paper takes their side first and argues back second.

What would a vote have to be for its count to stand beyond argument the way the Athenian pebble stood beyond argument: visible, verifiable, and unassailable without being naked?

Hands forward to Signing the Covenant: the counted vote buys the covenant.

In preparation, unpublished at the time of writing. This page holds the shape of the argument while the paper is written.