The election official in this discussion answers a few common questions on how to prepare for and operate an election using optical scan devices.
[H]ow many printing companies are capable of dealing with ballots? Is it something that's common -- for example, were there a decent number of companies available for [our locality's] contract -- or are they hard to find?
Printing companies-most do not print optical scan ballots. I think there a at least a half dozen or so in the area [NOTE: a moderately urban area] that prints optical scan ballots-we had no trouble getting the three estimates required by [our locality's] procurement rules.
I know ballots are heavier stock (80, 90, or 110lb) and have to be of high quality so they can be read easily by the scanners, so it's not an Office Depot/Kinko's job. How much lead time does your printer need before an election?
We work constantly with our printer. The more lead time the better-we send them a PDF file and they send us a proof and this is done in conjunction with programming the tabulator prom packs. 6 weeks is great, we will do it in two weeks between primary and election this Oct/Nov, but the Nov ballot is already set--races are blocked and referendums are set up. We'll just delete out candidates that don't make it through the primary.
This is a very detailed process-it's not rocket science, but it requires lots of coordination to ensure the timeline is met and all ballots and machines are tested and retested etc. Obviously, we take this very seriously and the appropriate staff resources and time are dedicated to this process.
How often does a vendor repairman need to come by to maintain the machines? I remember last spring when I came to the BoE meeting and you gave me a tour that there was [a vendor] repairman there. On average, is that a weekly, monthly, or election-time occurrence? And what kind of tech support does [our locality] get on election day? I would assume at least phone support, but are there vendor techs "on-call" in case of emergencies, too?
Counties differ on their process of maintaining their voting systems. [Our locality] has a maintenance contract with [our vendor] to do a factory level check of all of our machines once per year (we schedule this prior to each election) They clean, calibrate, test, repair and replace as required. At the completion of their visit, all of our machines are working perfectly.
Additionally, I have two local tabulator technicians who go through every machine prior to every election to put in new pens, paper tape, printer ribbons etc.
As my local techs are servicing the machines before each election, the tech, my deputy and I, run "test packs" through every machine. At this point, the ballot is here, the prom packs are programmed to read the ballots and everything should be ready to go.
Before any machine leaves for a precinct, we have run hundreds of ballots through it to test and retest every possible ballot marking or lack of marking. I have to be 1000% convinced that if a ballot is marked for a vote for candidate "A", the machine counts and reports a vote for candidate "A".
Additionally, by law, my board has to test 10% of my machines prior to each election. Again, they create their test pack--they mark approx. 25 ballots all sorts of ways. They hand-eye count and verify their test pack to get the results. Then they run the ballots through the tabulator and compare the tabulator tape to the known count of the test pack. They absolutely have to match.(And they do!!!)
When a tabulator is plugged in at the precinct on election morning, it is prepared to accept/read/count the appropriate ballot. In the previous two weeks, hundreds of ballots have been run through that machine by different people testing the accuracy of the system.
I can call the vendor on election day with a machine question, but if I'm talking to them on election day, I have very serious problems!! I believe the above testing will keep me from having a catastrophic problem. What we do on election day is have our local tabulator techs ready to respond to fix or replace a tabulator. (They have both cell phones and radios). Most problems are paper jams. When a tabulator jams/breaks, we use the emergency bin for ballots until the tech repairs or replaces the tabulator. If a tabulator is to be replaced, the tech removes the prom pack from the bad tabulator and inserts it in the new tabulator and then puts in the ballots from the emergency bin. Not one vote is lost in this process!! The battery in the prom pack is good for five years and we have two of them. At one stop, we unplug the tabulators every night.
In the last presidential, I think we fixed two jams and I know we replaced one tabulator. We always program several back up prom packs and tabulators to use on election day as required or to use if we have a recount.
Finally, what are [our locality's] plans regarding disability-compliance? Can we expect to see ballot-marking devices, DREs, or something else come next spring? Do you know when will the county BoE meet to discuss their options, and how citizens can provide input for that process?
HAVA disability compliance---I am waiting for guidance from the state board. I expect that in the next few months they will give the counties a list of 2-3 certified systems and guidance on how we request money and the procedures for us to acquire the new system. We will want a system that works with our current optical scan equipment and will work with the next generation of optical scan equipment.
The decision/process will be discussed at our normal board meetings which are open to the public. I don't think we're going to do anything in this area for at least two-three months.