🗳️ Why ABE Matters:
Trust in our elections is at an all-time low. Research shows only 16% of Americans trust our federal government, and a mere 4% trust it regardless of election outcomes. Democracy doesn’t work on blind faith—it thrives on transparency.
Abraham Lincoln once said, "Let them know the truth, and the country is safe." Truth and transparency aren't just words – they're the foundation of trust, and trust in our elections is faltering.
Here's the good news: Truth and transparency aren't just ideals—they're the foundation of trust in our democracy. The good news? The solution is simple: transparency. And ABE makes it possible.
🔎 How ABE Works:
Every vote’s ballot cast digitally generates 3 key records:
✅ A digital ballot image
✅ A Single Cast Vote Record (CVR)
✅ A Cast Vote Record (CVR) Database
These records should be publicly accessible, allowing voters, candidates, and election officials to independently verify election results. ABE makes this possible by displaying:
📌 One screen showing how the vote was recorded in the Cast Vote Record (CVR) database
📌 A second screen displaying the ballot image, allowing verification that it was recorded correctly
The best way to ensure accuracy and integrity is through random precinct-based verification and Risk-Limiting Audits (RLAs), systematically checking entire ballot rows for machine errors.
Example: Audit every 30th ballot row—starting with row 1, then 31, 61, 91, and so on. One auditor reads the ballot while another cross-checks the data in the Cast Vote Record (CVR) to confirm accuracy.
In an honest election, machine error rates should not exceed 1 in 250,000 when bubbles are properly filled in. ABE helps detect and prevent discrepancies, ensuring elections remain transparent, accurate, and publicly verifiable.
It’s simple, clear, and verifiable. But in some states, these records are hidden—like having a bank account but being blocked from checking your balance. Transparency shouldn’t be optional; it’s essential.
With ABE, elections are no longer a black box—they are an open process that every citizen can verify.
💡 Why ABE is a Game Changer:
🔹 Completely Free – Because transparency shouldn’t come with a price tag.
🔹 Easy to Use – Simple setup with minimal training required.
🔹 Rapid Election Verification – Instantly verifies results, reducing the need for costly recounts.
🔹 Independent & Secure – Works separately from election systems for maximum accuracy and accountability.
🔹 Streamlined Recount Assistance: ABE enables election officials to quickly resolve recount questions before certification. For example, if a county with 450,000 ballots needs to recount a school board race involving just 8,000 voters, traditional methods would require running all 450,000 ballots. With ABE, officials can isolate and recount only the relevant ballots—in minutes.
🔹 Efficient Recounts – ABE allows officials to recount only the necessary ballots instead of rerunning all ballots in a county.
🔹 Advanced Sorting Features – Instantly sorts ballots by race, precinct, overvotes, undervotes, and write-ins, streamlining audits and recounts.
📢 Join us in bringing election transparency to every state!
🎥 Watch the video above and share! Or below you can Tick Tok by subject.
📣 Ken Bennett, Chair of AUDIT USA and Former Arizona Secretary of State (2009–2015), says:
"We at AUDIT USA are not here to dwell on what divides us. Instead, we are dedicated to advancing solutions that can bring us together as Americans—solutions rooted in transparency, accountability, and publicly verifiable elections.
With tools like ABE, we can make election integrity simple, effective, and accessible to all.
Together, we can restore trust in our elections—one verified vote at a time.”
Unfortunately, in many states, these records aren't accessible. It’s like having a bank account but not being allowed to check your balance.
Transparency ensures that elections aren't a black box but an open process that every citizen can verify.
Democracy doesn’t work on blind faith; it thrives on clarity and accountability.
Abe shines a light on the process. Two screens: one showing the ballot image, the other showing how it was counted. Simple, clear, and verifiable. And the best part?
Abe is free because transparency shouldn't come with a price tag.
Democracy is about verifiable truth. The problems might be complicated, but the solution is as simple as turning on a light.”
Ken Bennett, Chair of AUDIT USA
Abraham Lincoln warned that America’s downfall would NOT come from external enemies, but from within:
‘If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.’
Yet he also offered the solution:
‘Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe.’
Yes! Transparency and truth are the foundations of a strong democracy.
With tools like ABE, we don’t have to choose between security and transparency. We can verify our votes and rebuild trust in our electoral process.
A Healthy Democracy is about verifiable facts. The problems might be complicated, but the solution is as simple as turning on a light.
Hopefully we can turn the light before it's too late.
Hope, Peace and democracy,
John R Brakey, Director AUDIT USA
💡Supplemental information added:
AUDIT USA’s Beta Release – Learn to Run ABE for Election Verification
Discover how to use ABE with Ballot Images and the CVR database to verify elections.
File Size: 667 MB
Filename: 3.01.25.zip
Expiration: December 31, 2025
🔗 Download & Run: https://we.tl/t-dPfbJy8S0O
32.33 Part 2 of 2 Brakey Video Excerpt of Op-ed By John Brakey Oct 23, 2024 Democracy in Peril. John Brakeys Op-Ed: Democracy in Peril: A Well-Orchestrated Decline? The True Threat to Democracy: Money, Power & Algorithms. The growing influence of billionaire entrepreneurs, exemplified by Elon Musk, poses an increasing threat to the stability of our democratic republic. By John R Brakey.
💡USB Hacker Tool Could Change Virtually Any Election Results, Given Access
Hacker USB "Utility Knife" can quickly take over and subvert any system! Ray Lutz Feb 07, 2025.
Can election systems be hacked?
The answer is “Yes, absolutely.”
I sometimes forget that not everyone understands that any computer system can be quickly taken over and subverted within seconds by anyone with physical access.
Election officials constantly say that the systems are safe because they are not connected to the internet, and they believe there is no WIFI capability. Of course, it is hard to be sure that any modern computer has WIFI turned off, no blue tooth, etc. and those are usually “soft” settings that can be enabled by any intruder, and not hardware switches.
Read the full story here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-156649711
Link to Risner Statement of Facts: http://bit.ly/2CM5XKT
Access to 21 years of AUDIT USA Videos, a Library on Elections court case working for verified election. Over 300 videos on election maters, and only one saving a whale!
Part 1 of 2 Clips by Subject: Presentation to Pima Co EI Commission: ABE Ensures Transparent & Verifiable Election: Filmed Friday,Febuary 21, 2025
0:00 Intro John Brakey:
02:53 Bill Risner Looking back 20 years:
04:07 Bill Risner Background, father was a Kentucky legislator, Bill grew up on the front porch of a general store with post office and he learned about politics.
05:44 Bill Risner part of a group to clean elections up with AUDIT AZ collaborating with Pima Democratic Party until…:
07:39 Bill Risner Photo of Access manual election night on RTA election May 2006:
08:54 Risner: Pima county’s Election staff will plea the 5th and Link to Bill Risner Statement of Facts: http://bit.ly/2CM5XKT
10:06 Risner Looking back 50 years of elections in Pima county:
** Two Blast from the past" https://johnrbrakey.substack.com/p/two-blast-from-the-past-sleuthing
11:50 Risner: Eight years of litigation:
15:56 Lesson Learned:
16:58 Brakey Into Ken Bennett. Former SOS AZ & our new Chair AUDIT USA
21:14 Ken Bennett ABE empowers Election Officials with "Speed & Accuracy"
30:36 Ken Bennett's 5 Key Steps for ensuring Verifiable Elections:
37:36 Ken Bennett explains every row is a ballot and every column is a choice:
37:55 Bennett and Brakey on ABA and Microsoft Excel proceed and hyperlink 736,000 images in 96 seconds:
43:20 Video 2.5 minutes on ABE & Microsoft Pivot:
47:24 Bennett on other Pivot features Ballot Styles, ABE's results matching and more:
49:37 Bennett - ABE splits the CVR into precinct-specific CVRs with links to ballot images for verification, details Dane county results.
50:03 Bennett explains ABE on Write-ins, Misread undervotes, questionable overvotes and more:
54:24 Ken Bennett explains how to use ABE to do a risk limiting audit on one of 256 precincts in Dane County, WI:
Part 2 of 2: Presentation to Pima Co Election Integrity Commission on ABE. Queston & Answers
TIME STAMP 0:00 Ken Bennett - Queston & Answers:
05:48 John Brakey discusses why county races are not audited, why this must change, and how voting patterns shifted in the 2020 Presidential election.
07:10 Former Rep Ted Downing explains why the bill did not include county races or bond elections. Brad Nelson and Karen Osborne stated that if they included the county that they would kill the bill:
Link 2 court testimony of Ted Downing explaining in court why no audits on county elections: Testimony Former Rep. Ted Downing on why County races were not included in the hand count audit.
Pima County has not only fought over the plain meaning of various election and public records laws, and it has actively intervened in the drafting of election laws. Specifically, in 2006, former Representative Ted Downing and former Senator Karen Johnson authored SB 1557 in the State legislature to mandate random auditing and hand counting of ballots.
Pima County Election Director Brad Nelson told Downing that including county races in the bill would be a "deal-breaker". Nelson said that he and the Maricopa County Election Director would oppose the entire bill if the County elections were covered by the mandatory hand count. Because of that threat, SB 1557 was passed into what became A.R.S. §16-602, and County races were not included. This MUST change.
09:20 – What are the limitations of Microsoft Excel, and can ABE perform a multi-ballot audit?:
16:30 Controversy are ballots images are a public record or not and how to release, see ARS 16 625:
22:08 Addressing question about the public misusing ballot image data and making false claims: Brakey outlines safeguards and built-in redundancies.
31:32 Ballot images should be treated as evidence, with no redactions. Under Arizona law, a voter has the right to disclose their own ballot by sharing a photo online. While VOTING is a secret process, once VOTED it becomes anonymous public record.
💡Supplemental information added:
32.33 Brakey Video Excerpt of Op-ed By John Brakey Oct 23, 2024 Democracy in Peril. John Brakeys Op-Ed: Democracy in Peril: A Well-Orchestrated Decline? The True Threat to Democracy: Money, Power & Algorithms. The growing influence of billionaire entrepreneurs, exemplified by Elon Musk, poses an increasing threat to the stability of our democratic republic. By John R Brakey.
My first video 2003 was on a whale we saved when I was the Executive Director of Friends of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico and USA:
Before becoming an election transparency activist, I was an environmentalist with “Amigos del Mar de Cortez SA de CV, headed by John Brakey. I was dedicated to the sustainable management of the Sea of Cortez—ensuring today’s fishing doesn’t jeopardize future resources. I advocated for responsible management, using user-benefit policies, and user-funded game wardens to teach substanable management and protect this vital ecosystem.
Activism isn’t just what I do—it’s who I am. I’m proud to stand up, speak out, and fight for what matters. Auditor John Brakey
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