This "Ballot Now" system is another example of the sort of "ballot
marking" system that we've called for and we can expect to see in the
next few years. They are still new and don't have the benefit of the
EAC/NIST standards that are under development. Putting out an RFP for
systems like this for the 2006 election seems like the best way to procede.
But the county must not jump in to this volatile arena yet, since
there is no pressure to do anything but arrange for a simple,
inexpensive central scanning system for the 2004 elections.
Neal McBurnett http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/
Signed and/or sealed mail encouraged. GPG/PGP Keyid: 2C9EBA60
<http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2003/12/12/news/news04.txt>
County to vote on voting system finalist
...
Some form of optical scan system will probably be necessary in 2004, since absentee voters won't be able to use DRE's at a precinct. Halicki has indicated in a past interview with the Daily that Boulder County will use the optical scan system for absentees, and may also use it for general voting purposes.
...
Hart is pitching two systems to Boulder County. One, the "eSlate," is a DRE that allows voters to review their entire list of votes before casting their electronic ballot. The second, the "Ballot Now," creates a ballot that can be tabulated by an optical scan system.
"'Ballot Now' was originally created for absentees, but it was just used for the full election in Orange County, California, for their governor recall election," said McClure.
http://www.hartintercivic.com/solutions/ballot_now.html
Ballot Now offers paper ballots on demand, efficient processing of
voted ballots, and unsurpassed efficiency when it is necessary to
interpret voter intent. All of these features are included in a
system that requires off-the-shelf computers, scanners and printers.
Ballot Now prints paper ballots on-demand for distribution to voters,
either in person or by mail. Returned ballots are scanned and digital
images are created for each ballot. Ballot Now captures each vote,
creating electronic vote records that are then tabulated using the
eSlateTM Electronic Voting System's powerful TallyTM tabulation and
reporting application.
The Ballot Now Digital Ballot Imaging System can be a stand-alone
paper voting system or fully integrated with the eSlate Electronic
Voting System or another election system. Ballot Now comes complete
with eSlate's Ballot Origination Software SystemTM for ballot
generation and Tally tabulation software.
....
Ultimate flexibility in ballot layout
Optional on-screen ballot resolution
No expensive, proprietary hardware
Fast, flexible reporting
Complete audit trail