Can an Election Be “Pre-Coded” When We Vote on Paper Ballots? Let’s Clear the Air.

In the aftermath of the December 1 elections, a statement circulating from a cybersecurity analyst has stirred serious public concern. The claim suggests that modern elections can be “pre-coded, pre-modeled, and pre-resolved.” It sounds alarming — almost like a movie script. But the question many ordinary Saint Lucians are asking is simple and fair:

How could that be possible when we actually voted with paper ballots, placed them in ballot boxes, and watched them get counted by hand?

Let us calmly and logically walk through this in plain language.

1. How Voting Actually Happens in Saint Lucia

Our elections are built on a manual, paper-based system:

• You receive a paper ballot.
• You mark your choice.
• The ballot goes into a sealed ballot box.
• At the end of voting, those ballots are physically opened and counted by hand.
• Party agents and observers are present.
• Results are written down and shared locally before going to the national level.

This means the actual vote exists in physical form — ink on paper — not as computer data.

2. What “Pre-Coded” Would Mean in a Digital Election

In countries that use electronic voting machines or internet-based voting, votes exist only as digital records. In those systems, it is theoretically possible for software to be manipulated.

But Saint Lucia does not vote electronically. There is no machine deciding your vote. There is no software tabulating your choice at the polling station. The “source document” of your vote is a physical ballot.

That single fact alone makes large-scale hidden “coding” extremely difficult.

3. Could Computers Still Change the Result After Manual Counting?

For a cyber plot to succeed in a manual system, all of the following would have to happen — quietly and nationwide:

• Polling station results would need to be secretly altered.
• Copies held by both political parties would also need to be altered.
• Returning officers would need to cooperate.
• Observers would need to remain silent.
• Media and parallel party counts would all have to match the false numbers.

In a small country where everyone knows everyone, and where multiple independent tallies exist, such a perfectly coordinated operation would be nearly impossible to hide.

Even one photograph of a posted polling station result that didn’t match the national total would immediately expose fraud.

4. What Can Actually Go Wrong in a Manual Election?

Manual systems are not perfect — but their weaknesses are usually human, not digital:

• Clerical errors in counting
• Improper handling of ballot boxes
• Poor training of election staff
• Delayed transmission of results

These are real risks. But they are very different from secret computer programming deciding winners.

5. Why Do “Cyber Rigging” Claims Spread So Easily?

Because:

• Technology feels mysterious.
• The word “cyber” creates fear.
• People already mistrust political institutions.
• Social media amplifies suspicion faster than evidence.
• Loss in an election is emotionally painful.

But feeling cheated is not the same as being digitally hacked. Evidence must match the claim.

Final Word for the Average Saint Lucian

If you:

• Voted on a paper ballot,
• Placed it in a physical box,
• And that box was opened and counted in public,

Then the outcome is rooted in physical reality, not hidden computer code.

This does not mean elections should never be questioned. It does mean that claims of “pre-coded” digital outcomes in a fully manual system must be backed by clear, technical, verifiable proof — not just frightening language.

Democracy survives on transparency, evidence, and truth — not on rumors.

Published on Choiseul on the Move — keeping public discussion grounded in facts, logic, and civic responsibility.