Both the Texas Election Code and the Texas Constitution require a unique number for each ballot.2
Can unnumbered ballots (or, in the case of electronic voting machines, unnumbered Cast Vote Records)3 be counted in a recount if the absence of a number creates an illegal ballot?
Ballot numbering, if done correctly, does not violate ballot privacy.
Unique ballot numbering is the primary way to account for all ballots, to ensure that no extra ballots were inserted, and that no duplicates are present. The numbering requirement helps to make sure that the ballots (or Cast Vote Records) are the real ones. Without unique identifiers for each ballot there is no way to know whether the electronic ballots counted in a recount are faked.
According to correspondence between e-voting manufacturer Hart InterCivic and the Texas Secretary of State’s office, Hart “does not and never has” numbered its electronic ballots.
Hart InterCivic, by failing to follow Texas constitutional and legislatively imposed election code requirements, did not actually meet Texas requirements for ballot numbering when submitting its system for certification, yet it was certified anyway.
http://blackboxvoting.org/the-case-o...aura-pressley/