How is “mechanical ballot counter” a third, distinct option from “ballot counting machine”? Are you saying that if it had no electronics and operated solely by a human turning a crank on a bunch of gears, springs and levers, people would see it as more reliable and trustworthy?
> Are you saying that if it had no electronics and operated solely by a human turning a crank on a bunch of gears, springs and levers, people would see it as more reliable and trustworthy?
Potentially, yes. Especially if you used off-the-shelf machines that IBM built in 1920.
In any case, that's just a distraction. Just use humans.
