Webcams add transparency to ballot count

It's a scene straight out of "Mission: Impossible."

A heavy, wooden door with keycard access blocks the way into the Maricopa County election center's ballot-tabulation room. Try getting in without authorization and two guards will stop you.

Need to use the bathroom? Sorry, the receptionist says, this place is under lockdown and the public area doesn't have one.

But here's a tip you don't have to destroy upon reading: Virtually anyone can get into this room.

All you need is an Internet connection.

Under a law that took effect in January, counties across the state must provide live webcams of their tabulation rooms any time they house ballots, even when nobody is around.

Maricopa County installed eight webcam in its tabulation room, where workers likely will spend days processing tens of thousands of ballots that won't be counted on election night.

Karen Osborne, the county's elections director, said she likes making the process more transparent to voters.

"They may get bored, but they can watch," she said.

The Arizona Secretary of State's Office has links to all county webcams watching over vote-tabulation rooms. The page is located at www.azsos.gov/election/CountyLiveVideoLinks.htm.