Beyond the Black Box: Democracy Works Best in the Open

Every election produces winners and losers, but every election should produce something even more important: public confidence.

That confidence is not built by asking citizens to trust a computer program they cannot inspect or proprietary software they cannot verify. It is built through transparency, accountability and a process that ordinary citizens can observe and understand. Whether you're a Republican, Democrat or Independent, every Nebraskan should be able to watch the process unfold and know that every legal vote was counted accurately.

Technology has transformed nearly every aspect of our lives, including the administration of elections. While many election officials serve honorably and professionally, our increasing reliance on complex technology has unintentionally created distance between voters and the process itself. When election night ends with data flowing through proprietary systems before results appear on a screen, many citizens understandably ask a simple question: "How do I know the process worked as intended?"

That question should never be dismissed. It should be answered.

The answer is not blind trust in technology or government. It is transparency.

I believe Nebraska has an opportunity to become a national leader by embracing election systems that are secure, auditable, and easily understood by the public. Paper ballots provide a durable record that can be reviewed and verified. However, paper alone does not guarantee election integrity. History demonstrates that paper ballots can also be manipulated when counting occurs behind closed doors or when meaningful oversight is absent.

The lesson is not that paper fails. The lesson is that transparency matters.

Around the world, democratic reform efforts have shown that public confidence grows when citizens can observe the counting process firsthand and compare publicly posted precinct results with official totals. Likewise, elections that rely on secrecy, whether through opaque software or private paper counts, invite skepticism regardless of the outcome.

Nebraska should strive for a process that minimizes those concerns.

That begins at the precinct level. Ballots should be counted where they are cast whenever practical, rather than transported long distances before initial results are recorded. Bipartisan counting teams should conduct the process in full view of authorized observers. Precinct tally sheets should be signed immediately upon completion and publicly posted before ballots leave the polling location. Strong chain-of-custody procedures should protect ballots throughout the canvass, audit and recount process.

None of these ideas favor one political party over another. They favor transparency.

Election integrity is often discussed as though it depends solely on equipment, software or administrative procedures. In reality, the strongest safeguard has always been an engaged citizenry. Democracy was never intended to be a spectator sport. It depends upon neighbors serving as poll workers, observers, election judges and volunteers who take ownership of the process within their own communities.

As Americans, we have gradually outsourced more responsibility for our elections to technology and institutions. In doing so, we have unintentionally asked citizens to place increasing trust in systems they cannot personally verify. That approach may improve efficiency, but efficiency alone does not produce confidence.

Transparency does.

The Secretary of State's responsibility extends beyond administering elections. It is about preserving public confidence in one of our republic's most fundamental institutions. Confidence is earned when government welcomes scrutiny rather than resists it, when procedures are open rather than hidden, and when citizens are invited to participate rather than simply accept the outcome.

As Nebraska's next Secretary of State, I will work to strengthen public trust by promoting secure elections, transparent procedures, rigorous audits and meaningful civic participation. I believe our goal should not simply be to conduct elections honestly, but to conduct them in a manner that every Nebraskan can see, understand and trust.

Our founders understood that self-government requires more than ballots. It requires citizens who remain actively engaged in protecting the institutions that preserve liberty. When neighbors count ballots in the open, when results are publicly verified, and when every step of the process is visible, trust is no longer something government asks for. It becomes something the people can witness for themselves.

Nebraska has an opportunity to lead the nation by demonstrating that election integrity and public confidence are not competing goals. They are achieved together through openness, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to the principle that democracy works best when it works in the open.