[userbinator]

To be fair it's a voting system, i.e. a program whose main function is to count, and unless the definition of "novice" these days is not what it used to be, it should be well within the ability of a "novice" programmer to write one.

[logfromblammo]

Given the potential impact of the results, and the incentives in place for the final tally to be something other than the correct sum, the problem is not quite as simple as counting your sheep.

Think of it more like counting your sheep as lean and hungry gentlemen shout random numbers in your ear, dump disguised goats into your flock, continually jog your elbow if you try to write anything down, and toss sheep over the fences in both directions.

And then, just for fun, they stab you in a kidney and take your wallet.

The hard part is not the counting. It's dealing with the potential attacks and still being able to verify precise and accurate results.