Riverbend mayor, one machine's readings altered: evidence account
In plain words
The count under random dictator elected Bell because Bell is the unique first choice on the ballot drawn under public seed plurality-failed-software-check-count.
No audit ran.
No container custody was supplied.
Outcome status: preliminary. Software tallies stay preliminary until an audit on the record confirms them or a full hand count of the record replaces them.
The contest
Title: Riverbend mayor, one machine's readings altered
Candidates: Ames, Bell, Cruz.
Records in this count: 60.
Ballot file: comparison-altered-machine
Source: Synthetic committed CVRs. No real election was counted.
Sixty ballots, twenty to a precinct, one reading machine to a precinct. The papers hold Ames 22, Bell 28, Cruz 10. reader-3 recorded ten of its Bell papers as Ames, so the machine readings report Ames 32, Bell 18, Cruz 10. Each row is one physical ballot; `paper` is present only where the paper differs from the machine reading. This is a fixture, not a sealed container.
Where the records sat:
One stack of 60 records. There is no ballot manifest of sealed containers.
No container custody was supplied.
What was configured
Configuration version: comparison-failed-software-check-plurality-v1-under-random-dictator.
Configuration fingerprint (SHA-256): b111fcea7a404679ed6245a1c169a26da3959b83c1b0f42a1c36571549dbd503.
Counting rule: random dictator.
Ballot rules used: Two or more marks at one rank end the ballot there; 2 ranks in a row left blank end the ballot; a candidate marked again lower down counts as a rank left blank.
Ballot file: comparison-altered-machine. A third party with this file can rerun the count.
Audit: none. No seed was used.
Configured audit risk limit: 10%.
Plain-language configuration (check against statute intent):
Configuration version: comparison-failed-software-check-plurality-v1-under-random-dictator
Fingerprint (SHA-256): b111fcea7a404679ed6245a1c169a26da3959b83c1b0f42a1c36571549dbd503
Election: Riverbend mayor, one machine failed its software check, counted under random dictator
Voting opens: 2026-10-23T08:00:00.000Z.
Voting closes: 2026-10-23T14:00:00.000Z.
A demonstration configuration over committed fixture records, counting the same ballots under another rule. No audit ran under it, and no real election was counted under it.
Contests and candidates:
Riverbend mayor, one machine failed its software check (mayor): Ames; Bell; Cruz.
Counting rule: random dictator.
Tiebreak: not used under this counting rule.
Ballot rules (how marks become a ranking):
Two or more marks at one rank: the ballot counts up to that rank and no further.
A candidate marked again lower down: that rank counts as a rank left blank.
2 ranks in a row left blank: the ballot counts up to there and no further.
A mark for anyone not on the ballot: a mark, so the rank is not blank, but never a vote.
Audit risk limit: 10%. A risk-limiting audit that runs under this configuration stops when the sample confirms the outcome at that limit, or sends the contest to a full hand count.
How a ballot is counted and how an audit stops are fixed by this version. Changing any of the lines above requires a new version id.
The count
What follows is the counting account under random dictator, including every intermediate step.
What was counted
Ballots in this count: 60.
Ballots from: Synthetic committed CVRs. No real election was counted.
Sixty ballots, twenty to a precinct, one reading machine to a precinct. The papers hold Ames 22, Bell 28, Cruz 10. reader-3 recorded ten of its Bell papers as Ames, so the machine readings report Ames 32, Bell 18, Cruz 10. Each row is one physical ballot; `paper` is present only where the paper differs from the machine reading. This is a fixture, not a sealed container.
How the marks on a ballot were read:
Two or more marks at one rank: the ballot counts up to that rank and no further.
A candidate marked again lower down: that rank counts as a rank left blank.
2 ranks in a row left blank: the ballot counts up to there and no further.
A mark for anyone not on the ballot: a mark, so the rank is not blank, but never a vote.
The rankings the ballots form, and how many ballots form each. A candidate a ranking does not name is ranked last on those ballots.
| Ranking | Ballots |
|---|---|
| Ames | 32 |
| Bell | 18 |
| Cruz | 10 |
The draw
Random dictator draws one ballot in proportion to how many ballots share each ranking, then takes that ballot's ranking as the outcome.
Drawn ranking: Bell.
Ballots that could be drawn: 60.
Public seed for this draw: plurality-failed-software-check-count.
Given that seed and these ballots, the draw is deterministic: the same seed reprints the same outcome. The method itself is still stochastic: a different seed can elect a different candidate.
Risk-limiting audits and the Ranked Robin evidence story do not apply the same way to a lottery or random draw. This account does not claim an RLA confirmation of the drawn winner.
Bell is elected as the unique first choice on the ballot drawn under public seed plurality-failed-software-check-count.
Records with no mark, by contest and by machine
At the close of polls, the share of records with no mark in each contest, by contest and by machine. Leaving a contest blank is a voter's right; an outlier below is a question about the ballot or the machine, not a verdict.
| Contest | Records | With no mark | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| mayor | 60 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Contest | Machine | Records | With no mark | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mayor | reader-1 | 20 | 0 | 0.00% |
| mayor | reader-2 | 20 | 0 | 0.00% |
| mayor | reader-3 | 20 | 0 | 0.00% |
The audit
No audit ran.
What was found
No audit ran, so there are no sample findings.
Custody: none supplied. No container custody chain was recorded or verified.
Why it stopped
Decision: no audit.
No audit ran.
Outcome status: preliminary. Software tallies stay preliminary until an audit on the record confirms them or a full hand count of the record replaces them.