Missing Zero-Report and Open-Poll Tapes – No Documentary Proof Machines Were Cleared Before Voting (PA)

Delaware County’s own RTKL response confirmed the following record gaps for scanner 1: 125 of 428 tally tapes missing; 137 of 428 ballot-count tapes missing; 255 of 428 open-poll tapes missing; and 244 of 428 “zero report” tapes missing. Zero-report tapes are the machine-generated records that establish a scanner registered zero ballots before polls opened – the foundational control against pre-loaded votes. Under Pennsylvania law, election judges must certify machine zero status before polls open. The absence of 244 of 428 zero reports means that for more than half of precincts, there is no documentary basis to establish that scanners did not begin the day with votes already recorded. When cross-referenced against the yellow-book deficiencies in Finding PA.ERI.VH-10, the combined absence creates an irreconcilable gap in the voter-to-ballot audit chain for the majority of Delaware County’s election infrastructure.