There are two pieces of voting equipment that voters may see at their poll or during Early Voting, the ExpressVote and the DS200 Tabulator. Both are manufactured by Election Systems & Software (ES&S). Vote by Mail however, is tabulated using a central count scanner called a DS450. This scanner is also manufactured by ES&S.
ExpressVote
The ES&S ExpressVote machine is designed with a touchscreen to mark a ballot. A voter inserts a district-coded ExpressVote ballot into the machine, touches the screen to make candidate selections, and then touches the Print button to print those selections onto the ballot. The ExpressVote only PRINTS a voter’s ballot; it does NOT CAST the ballot, COUNT the votes or transmit any vote totals. The ballot is only cast and votes counted when inserted into the second piece of equipment, the DS200 Tabulator.
The ExpressVote is an ADA compliant device, designed to allow all voters, including those who are visually or physically challenged, to vote unassisted. Ballot choices and instructions are displayed in large print on the touchscreen and can be heard using audio headphones. Voters enter their selections by touching choices on the screen, pressing keys on the Braille keypad, or using a personal ADA device such as a sip-n-puff or foot pedal.
Some additional features include adjustable volume, headphones and rocker-panel provided by election officials, screen adjustments for privacy, zoom mode to enlarge screen text, and high contrast mode that can assist voters who are visually impaired.
DS200 Tabulator
The “Digital Scan 200” or DS200 for short, is designed to tabulate the elections results. After marking the ballot, the voter inserts the ballot into the DS200 which counts the votes. At the end of Election Day, this equipment tabulates all of the vote totals for a particular poll, and the vote results on secure recording media are transported by election judges to the main counting office.
The DS200 Tabulator accepts two types of ballots, optical scan paper ballots and ballot cards from the ExpressVote unit. If using an optical scan paper ballot, the voter marks the ballot by filling in ovals next to his/her choices, then inserts the ballot into the DS200 Tabulator. See Optical Scan Voting Instructions for further details. Whichever type ballot a voter uses, the vote is only counted when the ballot is inserted into the DS200 Tabulator.
DS450 Central Count Scanner
The “Digital Scan 450” or DS450 is a high-speed ballot scanner that processes both ExpressVote ballots as well as traditional paper ballots. The option of vote by mail has grown in popularity with our voters. In order to accommodate this growth, a high-speed ballot scanner is necessary to ensure election results are processed in an accurate and prompt manner. The DS450 can scan 70 ballots per minute (bpm) with the exact same error-less precision expected out of our DS200 units, but at one-quarter of the usual processing time. The DS450 uses the same media as our other ES&S equipment, allowing for safe and secure transport of results from machine to our central reporting computer.
Board of Elections staff will be happy to demonstrate all equipment in the office. If you would like a demonstration or have questions about the election equipment used, please contact us at your earliest convenience.
