1. Today, under the 5th Republic
What follows is the REAL procedure, article by article of the French Electoral Code — click any number to read the text on Légifrance.
8 pm (or 6/7 pm) — closing, and counting starts immediately
The count begins as soon as the polls close and carries on "without interruption"; tables are arranged so voters can walk around them: everything is public.
Art. R63The ballot box is opened, envelopes are counted
Their number is checked against the signature register; any discrepancy is recorded in the official report.
Art. L65The poll workers
Chosen among the voters present (able to read and write), in teams of at least 4 per table; never more tables than voting booths; candidates may supply their own poll workers (names submitted at least 1 hour before closing), assigned so that each table is watched by poll workers from different candidates. All of this under the supervision of the polling-station board.
L65 + R65R64Bundles of 100
Envelopes are grouped into bundles of 100, sealed and signed: each table receives whole bundles — nobody "picks" ballots out of the box.
Art. L65Four hands per ballot
At each table: one poll worker takes the ballot out of the envelope and passes it unfolded to a second, who reads it aloud; at least two other poll workers record each vote, each on their own tally sheet. Two independent counts that must match: this is the central safeguard.
Art. L65Blank and spoiled ballots
Blank ballots are counted separately (an empty envelope counts as blank since the law of 21 February 2014), attached to the official report, excluded from votes cast. Spoiled: torn ballot, identifying mark, insulting comment, irregular envelope, several different ballots… attached to the report with the reason, countersigned. Several identical ballots in one envelope count as one vote. Doubtful or disputed ballots: referred to the board, which decides, with the evidence attached.
L65L66R66R66-2The official report
Drawn up by the secretary, in the room, in front of the voters, in 2 copies signed by every member of the board; the candidates' representatives are always invited to countersign. Tally sheets are attached; the remaining ballots are destroyed in front of the voters. The result is announced publicly and posted on site.
R67R68Sending it up the chain
One copy of the report leaves under sealed cover for the district seat; a canvassing commission chaired by a judge (plus a departmental councillor and a prefecture official), before the candidates' representatives, adds up the reports and announces the result — by Monday midnight at the latest.
L175R106R107💡 Why we're telling you this
Because every voting method proposed for debate will have to go through these very gestures. The question is never "does the method look elegant on paper?" but "can volunteer poll workers, at 10 pm, count it without mistakes, in full view of everyone?".
2. The mental workload, voter side and counting side
No abstract "fatigue score": we measure three countable quantities, and nothing else.
3. The full example, step by step
The whole example — counting ballot by ballot, then aggregating polling stations up to the national result — can be followed step by step in the interactive tutorial, which uses exactly the same 3 quantities defined just above (decisions, marks, passes) to measure every step.
4. What about computers?
🖥️ The computer announces, the paper certifies
Computer support can speed up the first results: entering the tally sheets and matrices alongside the manual count, instant addition, a national projection during the evening. But everything is always checked against the manual count, which alone is authoritative — exactly as today: the "8 pm" results on election night are estimates and quick reports; only the canvass by the commissions, on the signed paper reports, is official.
Never electronic voting in the polling station, never a dematerialized ballot: computers only ever come in after paper, never in its place.
This is the procedure the PACTE proposes to write into the texts put to referendum.