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COLORADO
VOTING TABULATION
Tally efficiently handles the processing of provisional ballots. Provisional ballots
cast on the eSlate are assigned a random number, or Retrieval Code, used to
identify a specific ballot in the Tally application. To process these ballots cast on
the eSlate, prior to tabulation, the election official instructs the Tally System to
hold provisional votes out of the tally until they are reviewed and resolved. Tally
can also accept provisional votes until rejected. This is accomplished through a
simple selection box in the application.
Once the provisional ballots have been reviewed and disposition rendered for
each, election officials view the list of Retrieval Codes in Tally. The individual
Retrieval Code would then be accepted or rejected depending on the disposition.
Although the Retrieval Code may be used to identify a specific provisional ballot
in the Tally application, there is no access to the actual ballot contents at any time
during provisional ballot processing.
Tally produces a variety of standard reports that may be supplemented by
customized report templates created by Hart InterCivic using Crystal Reports.
(2) Describe how you will extract any necessary information from Integrity
that is needed for the vote tabulation system, so that the current manual
process can be fully automated.
Hart InterCivic Response
As described previously, data from Integrity will be imported into BOSS through
a highly automated import wizard. Data for the Tally tabulation system is then
obtained from BOSS.
12.0 BALLOT MANAGEMENT (WEB INTERFACE)
The Boulder County Clerk & Recorder would provide the voters in the
county with an automated look-up of their own individual ballot facsimile on
the Elections web site. The web look-up routines access Printable Document
Format (.PDF) documents that are organized by ballot type and, in primary
elections, by party. These .PDF documents are only available in English at
this time.
12.1 Requirements
a. The ABL software shall generate files in a .PDF format that can be
printed on standard letter size paper. These documents will match the
layout of the absentee ballot for each ballot type; party, when necessary;
and for all languages entered into the ABL system for an election.
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Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System produces .PDF files for printing or export to the Web. The
.PDF files are produced using the same process as that used to create ballots for
the absentee ballot application, Ballot Now, ensuring the format is identical.
.PDF images can be created for each ballot type in all languages used in the
election.
b. The following naming conventions shall be used, in primary elections.
The English language files are named as follows: DEM001.pdf,
REP001.pdf, etc. (party: first three characters; ballot type: second three
characters). General elections do not require party specific file names. An
example of the naming structure used for a general election is as follows:
BC-001.pdf.
Hart InterCivic Response
The ballot definition software, BOSS, can directly produce .PDF files and use a
file naming convention selected by the County.
12.2 Proposer's Response
b. How do you propose to meet these requirements? Address all
requirements listed above, making sure to include item(s) listed below:
(1) Provide a sample of .PDF documents used by other customers for this or
a similar purpose. Other customers may use similar files for overseas
absentee voting before receiving the official printed absentee ballots.
These are not a replacement for official absentee ballots.
Hart InterCivic Response
Sample .PDF documents are included as Attachment 4: Sample Web Interface
Ballot.
With regard to the overseas absentee voters reference, Hart InterCivic's expertise
in this area was acknowledged as the exclusive certified election system partner of
the team that was awarded the Federal Voting Assistance Project's (FVAP)
Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE) contract.
Through that project, Hart will be part of the team that will develop a standard for
absentee voting by U.S. citizens overseas.
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
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13.0 PRECINCT VOTING (PRESENTATION OF BALLOT)
13.1 Requirements
a. Present the ballot so it is easy to read, intuitive and follows a logical
progression.
Hart InterCivic Response
Each ballot on an eSlate unit and the hard copy ballot produced by the Ballot Now
is presented in a format that is easy to read, follows a logical progression, is
appealing to the eye, and includes easy to follow instructions.
Flexible ballot design capability enhances the options for ballot presentation for
the voter. The eSlate ballot is presented in a color bitmap image, the clarity of
which makes it easy for voters to navigate. The polycarbonate cover on the
display protects the display from damage that might harm clarity; touch screens,
for example, have been shown to lose as much as w35% of their clarity due to
surface abrasions. As a result, the eSlate System has received widespread and
enthusiastic support from voters.
Exhibit IV-8 presents an example of how the ballot is presented on the eSlate
screen.
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Exhibit IV-8: Example eSlate DRE Screen. The eSlate presents the
ballot to the voter in a form that is logical and easy-to-read.
b. Allow the voter to change his/her selection as often as necessary.
Hart InterCivic Response
Throughout the voting process, the voter has multiple opportunities to change a
vote on the eSlate System. In fact, the voter may change selections at will until
the ballot is cast. Complete audio instructions for reviewing the ballot and making
changes is provided to visually impaired voters using the audio ballot instructions.
c. Alert the voter to undervote and prohibit overvotes before final vote is
cast.
Hart InterCivic Response
The Ballot Summary that appears prior to the ballot being cast clearly identifies
any undervoted contest by marking it "No Selection" in red type. For voters
using the audio ballot, each contest name is read and any undervotes are identified
as "No Selection." The voter is free to select a contest in which he or she wishes
to change a selection. The eSlate System does not permit overvotes.
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Exhibit IV-9 presents a sample of the eSlate's Ballot Summary.
Exhibit IV-9: eSlate's Ballot Summary Screen. The Ballot Summary Screen
clearly indicates undervoted contests, and provides the voter an opportunity
to return to any contest to change a vote, if desired.
d. Allow the voter to cast a write-in vote.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System accommodates write-in voting as an integral part of the
electronic voting process. Unlike many other systems, the eSlate in-person voting
method electronically records and stores write-in votes.
Exhibit IV-10 displays the eSlate's write-in entry screen.
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Exhibit IV-10: The eSlate's Write-in Screen. The voter uses the
SELECT Wheel and ENTER button to clearly enter the name of
any write-in candidate.
e. Allow the voter to cast a provisional vote.
Hart InterCivic Response
Under current Colorado law and practice, provisional votes are cast using paper
ballots. The eSlate System's Ballot Now application provides this capability.
Paper ballots are printed and marked "Provisional." Ballot Now ballots include a
bar code/serial number to identify the voters precinct in order to facilitate
reporting.
Provisional paper ballots are distributed as required in polling places on Election
Day. The ballots are separated from other ballots, following the same procedures
currently in place, and returned to the elections office for adjudication. As
determinations are made, the ballots are released for scanning. As Ballot Now
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scans each ballot, a Cast Vote Record is created. When all provisional votes have
been adjudicated, the MBB holding the provisional cast vote records is read and
the results are included in the final tabulation.
In the event electronic processing of provisional voters is approved, the eSlate
System enables elections officials to process provisional and challenged ballots
efficiently by following these simple steps.
As soon as the voter completes the appropriate administrative procedures
authorizing to vote a provisional ballot, the Polling Place Official will initiate the
normal process using the Judge's Booth Controller (JBC) to "Add Voter." The
poll worker then will select the voter's precinct number. Next, the election
official will select "Provisional" on the JBC screen. This action will assign a
Retrieval Code (a five-digit number) to the voter's ballot.
Once a Retrieval Code is assigned, the official then selects "Print" on the JBC to
generate the Access Code and a Voter Provisional Stub. This stub contains the
Retrieval Code, instructions to the voter, and designated spaces for the voter's
name and signature.
After the voter has signed the stub with the retrieval code and returned it to the
Polling Place Official, the voter may take the Access code and proceed to the
booth to vote by the normal process.
f. Provide a summary screen showing what the voter has chosen and what
the voter has abstained from voting prior to final vote being cast.
Hart InterCivic Response
The voter must view the Ballot Summary before he or she is able to cast a final
ballot. The eSlate does not accept a CAST BALLOT command until the voter
has viewed the Ballot Summary. The voter may view the Summary by voting the
last contest on the last page of the ballot, by pressing NEXT after viewing the last
page of the ballot, or by pressing CAST BALLOT the first time before having
completed either of the above. An example of the eSlate's Summary Screen is
provided in Exhibit IV-11.
g. Device shall be capable of supporting multiple languages, including, but
not limited to, English, Spanish and character-based languages.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate System Version 2.1, as certified in Colorado, supports English and
Spanish. eSlate System version 3.0 supports up to 10 languages, including
character-based languages. English and additional languages are entered directly
into BOSS, which then formats the data for the MBB. Primary and secondary
audio is recorded directly by the BOSS application. Import and export functions
move the ballot data in and out of BOSS and support use of commercially
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available translation software. Locally recorded audio enhances
understandability by taking into account local pronunciations and dialects, a
consideration in the Justice Department implementation of language minority
requirements.
h. The system will protect the privacy and identity of the voter.
Hart InterCivic Response
There is no voter identification information in the eSlate System database.
Furthermore, when votes are cast and Cast Vote Records created, the Cast Vote
Records are stored in a randomized order rather than the order in which they were
cast. This prevents someone from attempting to identify an individual's vote by
comparing it to the voting order in a roster book. Privacy is also guaranteed by the
fact that eSlate Access Codes are not linked in any way to information that could
be used to identify a voter.
13.2 Proposer's Response
b. How do you propose to meet these requirements?
Hart InterCivic Response
Each requirement was addressed directly in the above discussion.
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
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14.0 PRECINCT VOTING (MULTIPLE BALLOT STYLES AND MULTIPLE
BALLOT DISTRICTS)
14.1 Requirement
The system shall provide for the voting of multiple ballot styles and multiple
ballot districts at a single election precinct.
Hart InterCivic Response
The ballot generation feature of BOSS is capable of presenting multiple ballot
styles and multiple ballot districts at a single precinct.
14.2 Proposer's Response
b. How do you propose to meet this requirement?
Hart InterCivic Response
Jurisdictional and election specific information is stored in BOSS. Ballot
generation creates a single data file that is used to conduct the election across the
County. The data, including ballot styles and districts, is stored on the MBB.
MBBs are loaded in each Judge's Booth Controller. Judge's Booth Controllers are
placed at the precincts.
When the JBC is activated, the polling place officials control which ballot styles
are presented at each precinct by entering a precinct identification code. This can
include presentation of all ballot styles if the polling place is being used for
countywide early voting.
15.0 PRECINCT
VOTING
(ACCESSIBILITY FOR VOTERS WITH SPECIFIC
NEEDS)
15.1 Requirements
a. The proposed system shall provide audio instructions for the ballot and a
mechanism for the visually impaired voter to cast a ballot, either on the
voting unit, itself, or on a separate device designed for this purpose. The
process shall imitate the process used by sighted voters, with the
exception of the audio interface.
Hart InterCivic Response
When an eSlate voting device is outfitted with the Disability Access Unit, visually
impaired voters may use the System's integrated audio ballot reader. Through
a. Will you meet these requirements?
Yes X No
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headphones supplied with the system, eSlate's audio ballot reader allows visually
impaired voters to hear the ballot read in a human voice not a synthesized
electronic voice including audible instructions and confirmation of each vote.
Audio is locally recorded, so local pronunciations are correct, and the system
supports multilingual audio. Voters with literacy challenges can also use the audio
ballot reader.
In addition, eSlate's controls are large and clearly shaped, providing a highly
tactile interface. The SELECT Wheel provides both audio and tactile support to
visually impaired voters, as well as an appropriate interface for individuals with
limited dexterity who cannot master a touch screen target zone. The lightweight
eSlate can be placed on a wheelchair tray or taken curbside, and eSlate DAU unit
voting booths are designed to accommodate wheelchairs.
b. It would be desirable for the system to support an enlarged ballot for the
visually impaired.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate's System 3.0 affords the voter the option to select a larger font display
of English ballots at each individual voting unit. In this manner, the voter makes
the choice of the large type ballot privately.
The eSlate System Version 2.1 uses a standard 18-point font ballot text displayed
on the eSlate. The font size can be increased, if Election Officials wish to provide
a standard font that is larger than 18-point. In addition, since the eSlate is not a
touch screen system, is easily accommodates standard screen magnifiers.
c. The devices shall meet all requirements of Federal and State law that
address accessibility to voting.
Hart InterCivic Response
The eSlate Precinct Voting System complies with Section 504 of the Federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its subsequent amendments, and Title II of the
Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and its subsequent amendments.
d. The devices shall be lightweight and portable enough for use on a voter's
lap and at the curbside for voters unable to access the voting room or
voting booth, or provide for an alternative solution.
Hart InterCivic Response
The highly portable eSlate readily accommodates voters who cannot enter the
polling place or who require that the voting device be placed on a wheelchair tray
or lap.
Each eSlate weighs just 7.7 lbs. with the battery pack installed. Without