Ana Vanessa Herrero

And the receipt shows a tally of all the votes made on that specific machine for each candidate on election day. Those receipts, the voting tallies, are called in Spanish actas, A-C-T-A, acta. And the first runners in the relay race to get the acta in hand would be the witnesses. In Venezuela, each candidate is allowed, by law, to have an accredited witness at each voting machine in the country.

And the receipt shows a tally of all the votes made on that specific machine for each candidate on election day. Those receipts, the voting tallies, are called in Spanish actas, A-C-T-A, acta. And the first runners in the relay race to get the acta in hand would be the witnesses. In Venezuela, each candidate is allowed, by law, to have an accredited witness at each voting machine in the country.

Not just in each voting center. At each voting machine. Over 30,000 machines. Some voting centers have only one machine. Some have more. The witnesses can't see people's votes. They just keep an eye on the process. And then at the end of the voting day, each witness is legally entitled to get a printed copy of the acta, the voting tally, from their voting machine.

Not just in each voting center. At each voting machine. Over 30,000 machines. Some voting centers have only one machine. Some have more. The witnesses can't see people's votes. They just keep an eye on the process. And then at the end of the voting day, each witness is legally entitled to get a printed copy of the acta, the voting tally, from their voting machine.

The 600K plan was each opposition witness would get their akta and hand it off to someone else, the next person in the relay. That person opens an app the opposition created and then scans a QR code that's on the akta. The QR code contains all the results from that voting machine, and the app would send those results to the opposition's national command.

The 600K plan was each opposition witness would get their akta and hand it off to someone else, the next person in the relay. That person opens an app the opposition created and then scans a QR code that's on the akta. The QR code contains all the results from that voting machine, and the app would send those results to the opposition's national command.

Then another person in the relay would take the acta, the physical sheet, to a secret location. There were over 100 in the country. Once the runner got to that place, they would hand the acta off to the person there, who had a whole setup. A laptop, a scanner, Starlink internet access, and a little generator. Like for camping, the organizer said.

Then another person in the relay would take the acta, the physical sheet, to a secret location. There were over 100 in the country. Once the runner got to that place, they would hand the acta off to the person there, who had a whole setup. A laptop, a scanner, Starlink internet access, and a little generator. Like for camping, the organizer said.

He said we needed electricity that can't be turned off and internet access that can't be blocked. The person with the scanner would run the ACTA through the scanner, and the image of the ACTA would be uploaded to the website the opposition had set up, where anyone could see it, along with the vote totals from that ACTA. Then the acta itself, the long piece of paper, would go into a box.

He said we needed electricity that can't be turned off and internet access that can't be blocked. The person with the scanner would run the ACTA through the scanner, and the image of the ACTA would be uploaded to the website the opposition had set up, where anyone could see it, along with the vote totals from that ACTA. Then the acta itself, the long piece of paper, would go into a box.

The box, when it was full, would be kept at another secret location. There were layers of support for each part of this relay all around the country, organized by state, city, parish, and voting center. The organizer said every process had a person responsible for it, with defined work and the tools to make it work.

The box, when it was full, would be kept at another secret location. There were layers of support for each part of this relay all around the country, organized by state, city, parish, and voting center. The organizer said every process had a person responsible for it, with defined work and the tools to make it work.

The organizer said even inside the plan, no more than 10 people knew all the parts of it. He said they mapped this out, 600K, based on lessons learned from counting votes in previous elections.

The organizer said even inside the plan, no more than 10 people knew all the parts of it. He said they mapped this out, 600K, based on lessons learned from counting votes in previous elections.

And this time around, one thing that made a big difference was that for the first time in a national election, the ACTAs had this QR code, which meant if the opposition witnesses could just get the ACTAs, the full election results could go up on an opposition website right away. The whole operation depended on tens of thousands of witnesses each getting their acta no matter what.

And this time around, one thing that made a big difference was that for the first time in a national election, the ACTAs had this QR code, which meant if the opposition witnesses could just get the ACTAs, the full election results could go up on an opposition website right away. The whole operation depended on tens of thousands of witnesses each getting their acta no matter what.

A process that seems to have required a combination of stamina, quick thinking, and strategic belligerence. Maria was a witness. Maria is not her real name, and this is not her real voice. We recorded someone else copying what Maria said as closely as possible so we wouldn't put her at risk of being identified. Maria and her husband, Pedro, also not his real name, both volunteered for 600K.

A process that seems to have required a combination of stamina, quick thinking, and strategic belligerence. Maria was a witness. Maria is not her real name, and this is not her real voice. We recorded someone else copying what Maria said as closely as possible so we wouldn't put her at risk of being identified. Maria and her husband, Pedro, also not his real name, both volunteered for 600K.

Maria's in her 50s. She was a social worker, worked for the government for years. She said she grew up without money. Maria was the first in her family to go to university. That's when she met Pedro, who was into politics.

Maria's in her 50s. She was a social worker, worked for the government for years. She said she grew up without money. Maria was the first in her family to go to university. That's when she met Pedro, who was into politics.