U.S. patent application number 12/049201 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-18 for integrated voting system and method for accommodating paper ballots and electronic ballots.
Invention is credited to Steve Bolton, Timothy J. Cordes, James E. Schmidt.
Application Number | 20080308633 12/049201 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39760114 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080308633 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bolton; Steve ; et
al. |
December 18, 2008 |
Integrated Voting System and Method for Accommodating Paper Ballots
and Electronic Ballots
Abstract
An integrated voting system and method for accommodating paper
ballots and electronic ballots. The voting system comprises a
processing circuit operable to determine whether the voting system
is operating in an electronic ballot mode or a paper ballot mode.
In the electronic ballot mode, an electronic ballot is displayed to
the voter and, in response, the voter enters one or more voting
selections via an input device. The entered voting selections are
then stored in a memory device and tabulated by the processing
circuit. In the paper ballot mode, a scanner assembly is operable
to scan a paper ballot with one or more voting selections marked by
a voter. The processing circuit is operable to decode the marked
voting selections and, preferably, any irregularity associated with
the paper ballot (such as an undervote or overvote) is displayed to
the voter for possible correction. The marked voting selections are
then tabulated by the processing circuit.
Inventors: |
Bolton; Steve; (Clearwater,
FL) ; Cordes; Timothy J.; (La Vista, NE) ;
Schmidt; James E.; (Omaha, NE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STINSON MORRISON HECKER LLP;ATTN: PATENT GROUP
1201 WALNUT STREET, SUITE 2800
KANSAS CITY
MO
64106-2150
US
|
Family ID: |
39760114 |
Appl. No.: |
12/049201 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60918117 |
Mar 15, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
235/386 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07C 13/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
235/386 |
International
Class: |
G07C 13/00 20060101
G07C013/00 |
Claims
1. A method of voting using an integrated voting system for
accommodating electronic ballots and paper ballots, comprising:
determining whether the voting system is operating in an electronic
ballot mode or a paper ballot mode; if the voting system is
operating in the electronic ballot mode: displaying an electronic
ballot; receiving one or more voting selections entered in response
to the electronic ballot; storing the entered voting selections;
and tabulating the entered voting selections; and if the voting
system is operating in the paper ballot mode: receiving a paper
ballot with one or more marked voting selections; reading the
marked voting selections; and tabulating the marked voting
selections.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the voting
system is operating in the electronic ballot mode comprises
detecting a user input indicating the electronic ballot mode of
operation.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic ballot mode is
activated by inserting a universal serial bus (USB) device into a
USB port of the voting system.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic ballot mode is
activated by inserting a personalized electronic ballot (PEB) into
a PEB reader of the voting system.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic ballot mode is
activated by placing a control sheet in a ballot insertion tray of
the voting system.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic ballot mode is
activated by entering a command into an input device of the voting
system.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the voting
system is operating in the electronic ballot mode comprises
evaluating a default setting indicating the electronic ballot mode
of operation.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the voting
system is operating in the paper ballot mode comprises detecting a
user input indicating the paper ballot mode of operation.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the paper ballot mode is
activated by placing the paper ballot in a ballot insertion tray of
the voting system.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the paper ballot mode is
activated by entering a command into an input device of the voting
system.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the voting
system is operating in the paper ballot mode comprises evaluating a
default setting indicating the paper ballot mode of operation.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein if the voting system is
operating in the electronic ballot mode, the method further
comprises printing the entered voting selections on a printable
medium.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the entered voting selections
are printed in real-time on the printable medium as the entered
voting selections are received by the voting system.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the printable medium is secured
such that the printable medium is inaccessible to a voter.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the voter is able to view the
entered voting selections printed on the printable medium.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic ballot comprises
one or more voting choices associated with each of one or more
contests as displayed on one or more voting screens.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein if the voting system is
operating in the paper ballot mode, the method further comprises
displaying information associated with the paper ballot.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein if the voting system is
operating in the paper ballot mode, the method further comprises:
determining if the paper ballot contains an irregularity; if the
paper ballot does not contain an irregularity, tabulating the
marked voting selections; and if the paper ballot contains an
irregularity: displaying information associated with the
irregularity; prompting for an input as to whether the irregularity
is acceptable; receiving the input as to whether the irregularity
is acceptable; if the received input indicates that the
irregularity is acceptable, tabulating the marked voting selections
that are not associated with the irregularity; if the received
input indicates that the irregularity is unacceptable, returning
the paper ballot without tabulating the marked voting
selections.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the irregularity is selected
from the following group: an undervote, an overvote, and
combinations thereof.
20. An integrated voting system for accommodating electronic
ballots and paper ballots, comprising: a display operable to
display an electronic ballot; an input device operable to receive
one or more voting selections entered in response to the electronic
ballot; a storage device operable to store the entered voting
selections; a scanner assembly operable to scan at least a portion
of a paper ballot with one or more marked voting selections; and a
processing circuit operable to tabulate the entered voting
selections and the marked voting selections.
21. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the processing circuit
is further operable to: determine whether the voting system is
operating in an electronic ballot mode or a paper ballot mode;
communicate with the display, the input device and the storage
device when the voting system is operating in the electronic ballot
mode; and communicate with the scanner assembly when the voting
system is operating in the paper ballot mode.
22. The voting system of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the electronic
ballot mode by detecting a user input indicating the electronic
ballot mode of operation.
23. The voting system of claim 22, wherein the user input comprises
a universal serial bus (USB) device inserted into a USB port of the
voting system.
24. The voting system of claim 22, wherein the user input comprises
a personalized electronic ballot (PEB) inserted into a PEB reader
of the voting system.
25. The voting system of claim 22, wherein the user input comprises
a control sheet placed in a ballot insertion tray of the voting
system.
26. The voting system of claim 22, wherein the user input comprises
a command entered into an input device of the voting system.
27. The voting system of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the electronic
ballot mode by evaluating a default setting indicating the
electronic ballot mode of operation.
28. The voting system of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the paper ballot
mode by detecting a user input indicating the paper ballot mode of
operation.
29. The voting system of claim 28, wherein the user input comprises
the paper ballot placed in a ballot insertion tray of the voting
system.
30. The voting system of claim 28, wherein the user input comprises
a command entered into an input device of the voting system.
31. The voting system of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the paper ballot
mode by evaluating a default setting indicating the paper ballot
mode of operation.
32. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the electronic ballot
comprises one or more voting choices associated with each of one or
more contests as displayed on one or more voting screens.
33. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the display is further
operable to display information associated with the paper ballot
when the voting system is operating in the paper ballot mode.
34. The voting system of claim 33, wherein the information
comprises an indication of an irregularity associated with the
paper ballot.
35. The voting system of claim 34, wherein the irregularity is
selected from the following group: an undervote, an overvote, and
combinations thereof.
36. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the processing circuit
is further operable to decode the marked voting selections when the
voting system is operating in the paper ballot mode.
37. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the input device is
selected from the following group: a touch screen display, a
keyboard, a joystick, a pointing device, a trackball, a touch pad,
and combinations thereof.
38. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the input device and the
display comprise a touch screen display.
39. The voting system of claim 20, wherein the storage device
comprises non-volatile memory.
40. The voting system of claim 20, further comprising a printer
operable to print the entered voting selections on a printable
medium when the voting system is operating in the electronic ballot
mode.
41. The voting system of claim 40, wherein the entered voting
selections are printed in real-time on the printable medium as the
entered voting selections are received by the input device.
42. The voting system of claim 40, further comprising a locked
housing that secures the printable medium such that the printable
medium is inaccessible to a voter.
43. The voting system of claim 42, wherein the locked housing
includes a display window that enables the voter to view the
entered voting selections printed on the printable medium.
44. An integrated voting system for accommodating electronic
ballots and paper ballots, comprising: a display operable to
display an electronic ballot; an input device operable to receive
one or more voting selections entered in response to the electronic
ballot; a storage device operable to store the entered voting
selections; a printer operable to print the entered voting
selections on a printable medium; a scanner assembly operable to
scan at least a portion of a paper ballot with one or more marked
voting selections; a processing circuit operable to: determine
whether the voting system is operating in an electronic ballot mode
or a paper ballot mode; communicate with the display, the input
device, the storage device and the printer when the voting system
is operating in the electronic ballot mode; and communicate with
the scanner assembly when the voting system is operating in the
paper ballot mode.
45. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the electronic
ballot mode by detecting a user input indicating the electronic
ballot mode of operation.
46. The voting system of claim 45, wherein the user input comprises
a universal serial bus (USB) device inserted into a USB port of the
voting system.
47. The voting system of claim 45, wherein the user input comprises
a personalized electronic ballot (PEB) inserted into a PEB reader
of the voting system.
48. The voting system of claim 45, wherein the user input comprises
a control sheet placed in a ballot insertion tray of the voting
system.
49. The voting system of claim 45, wherein the user input comprises
a command entered into an input device of the voting system.
50. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the electronic
ballot mode by evaluating a default setting indicating the
electronic ballot mode of operation.
51. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the paper ballot
mode by detecting a user input indicating the paper ballot mode of
operation.
52. The voting system of claim 51, wherein the user input comprises
the paper ballot placed in a ballot insertion tray of the voting
system.
53. The voting system of claim 51, wherein the user input comprises
a command entered into an input device of the voting system.
54. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
determines that the voting system is operating in the paper ballot
mode by evaluating a default setting indicating the paper ballot
mode of operation.
55. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the electronic ballot
comprises one or more voting choices associated with each of one or
more contests as displayed on one or more voting screens.
56. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the display is further
operable to display information associated with the paper ballot
when the voting system is operating in the paper ballot mode.
57. The voting system of claim 56, wherein the information
comprises an indication of an irregularity associated with the
paper ballot.
58. The voting system of claim 57, wherein the irregularity is
selected from the following group: an undervote, an overvote, and
combinations thereof.
59. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
is further operable to decode the marked voting selections when the
voting system is operating in the paper ballot mode.
60. The voting system of claim 44, wherein the processing circuit
is further operable to tabulate the entered voting selections and
the marked voting selections.
61. An integrated voting system for accommodating electronic
ballots and paper ballots, comprising: a display operable to
display an electronic ballot; an input device operable to receive
one or more voting selections entered in response to the electronic
ballot; a storage device operable to store the entered voting
selections; a scanner assembly operable to scan at least a portion
of a paper ballot with one or more marked voting selections; and a
processing circuit operable to decode the marked voting
selections.
62. A method of voting using an integrated voting system for
accommodating electronic ballots and paper ballots, comprising:
determining whether the voting system is operating in an electronic
ballot mode or a paper ballot mode; if the voting system is
operating in the electronic ballot mode: processing and tabulating
one or more voting selections entered in response to an electronic
ballot; and if the voting system is operating in the paper ballot
mode: reading and tabulating one or more voting selections marked
on a paper ballot.
63. A voting system, comprising: a display operable to display a
plurality of language options to a voter; an input device operable
to receive a language selection entered in response to the language
options; a scanner assembly operable to scan at least a portion of
a paper ballot with one or more marked voting selections; a
processing circuit operable to decode the marked voting selections;
and wherein the display is further operable to display information
associated with the paper ballot in the selected language.
64. The voting system of claim 63, wherein at least some of the
language options are viewable only by scrolling a scroll bar.
65. The voting system of claim 64, wherein the language options
comprise a first set of language options that are viewable without
scrolling the scroll bar and a second set of language options that
are viewable only by scrolling the scroll bar.
66. The voting system of claim 65, wherein the first set of
language options comprise the most frequently used languages for a
particular precinct location.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority to U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/918,117, filed on Mar. 15,
2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The present invention relates generally to voting systems
and, more particularly, to an integrated voting system and method
for accommodating paper ballots and electronic ballots.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] A variety of different types of voting equipment are used in
the United States and throughout the world. In many jurisdictions,
a voter receives a traditional paper ballot on which is printed the
various races to be voted on. The voter votes by darkening or
otherwise marking the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot.
The marked paper ballot may then be dropped in a ballot box,
whereby the ballot is transferred to a centralized location for
tabulation by a central ballot counter. Alternatively, many
jurisdictions provide a precinct ballot counter at the polling
place in order to expedite the tabulation of votes.
[0007] In jurisdictions that use traditional paper ballots, an
electronic ballot marking device may be provided for use by voters
who are blind, vision-impaired, or have a disability or condition
that would make it difficult or impossible to manually mark a paper
ballot in the usual way. In operation, a voter receives a paper
ballot from a poll worker and takes the paper ballot to the ballot
marking device. The voter inserts the paper ballot into the device,
whereby the paper ballot is scanned and the various races to be
voted on are presented to the voter either visually on a touch
screen display or audibly via headphones. The voter then selects
his/her votes using one of several different types of input devices
(e.g., a touch screen display, Braille-embossed keys, etc.). Once
the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, a printer
marks the paper ballot by printing marks in the appropriate mark
spaces on the paper ballot. The voter or a poll worker then drops
the marked paper ballot in a ballot box for tabulation by a central
ballot counter or, if available, inserts the marked paper ballot
into a precinct ballot counter.
[0008] In recent years, many jurisdictions have turned to
electronic voting machines (such as direct recording electronic
(DRE) voting machines) in lieu of traditional paper ballots.
Typically, an electronic voting machine includes a touch screen
display for displaying the various races to be voted on and
allowing the "touch" selection of votes. Once the voter confirms
that the selected votes are correct, the voting selections are
recorded in the memory of the voting machine and electronically
tabulated with the voting selections of other voters. The
electronic voting machine may also include an audio ballot function
for use by voters who are blind or vision-impaired.
[0009] One issue that has been raised with respect to electronic
voting machines is that there is no paper record of the voter's
selection of votes. As such, many voters are skeptical of the
integrity of the election process and believe that their electronic
votes may not be counted correctly. In an attempt to resolve this
issue, many jurisdictions require that the electronic voting
machine provide a voter-verifiable paper record of votes cast on
the voting machine. For example, the paper record may comprise a
plurality of voting records each of which corresponds to a voting
session of a voter. Each voter is able to review his/her voting
record and verify that the electronic votes have been recorded and
tabulated correctly. The paper record can then be compared to the
electronic records and vote tallies of the voting machine for
auditing purposes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention is directed to an integrated voting
system and method for accommodating both paper ballots and
electronic ballots. The voting system allows voters to choose one
of two different voting options depending on voter preference.
While some voters may choose to vote by marking a paper ballot,
other voters may choose to vote via an electronic ballot. Thus, the
integrated voting system may be used in place of several different
types of voting equipment, including an electronic voting machine,
a precinct ballot counter and/or a central ballot counter.
[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, a voter may choose to vote by
manually marking his/her voting selections on a paper ballot. The
voter then places the marked paper ballot in a ballot insertion
tray of the voting system. Upon insertion, a scanner assembly scans
the paper ballot and a processing circuit decodes the marked voting
selections. Preferably, any irregularities associated with the
paper ballot (e.g., an undervote and/or an overvote) are identified
and displayed to the voter on a touch screen display so that the
voter may correct the irregularities if desired. Finally, a
processing circuit tabulates the marked voting selections.
[0012] Alternatively, a voter may choose to vote with an electronic
ballot in lieu of a paper ballot. In this case, the touch screen
display of the voting system is utilized to display a series of
voting screens whereby the voter enters his/her voting selections
via the touch of the screen. At the end of the voting session, the
entered voting selections are stored in an internal memory of the
voting system, and the processing circuit tabulates the entered
voting selections. Preferably, an audit log printer is provided to
print the entered voting selections on a printable medium for
auditing purposes. The printable medium is secured within a locked
housing such that the printable medium is inaccessible to the
voter. Of course, the locked housing may include a display window
that enables the voter to view the voting selections printed on the
printable medium for voter verification.
[0013] In order to determine if the voting system is operating in a
paper ballot mode or an electronic ballot mode, the voting system
may be programmed to detect one or more user inputs. For example,
the electronic ballot mode may be activated by (i) inserting a
universal serial bus (USB) device into a USB port of the voting
system, (ii) inserting a personalized electronic ballot (PEB) into
a PEB reader of the voting system, (iii) placing a control sheet in
the ballot insertion tray of the voting system, or (iv) entering a
command into an input device of the voting system. On the other
hand, the paper ballot mode may be activated by (i) placing the
paper ballot in the ballot insertion tray of the voting system or
(ii) entering a command into an input device of the voting system.
Of course, the voting system may be programmed to default to either
the paper ballot mode or the electronic ballot mode as desired.
[0014] Thus, the integrated voting system and method of the present
invention accommodates both paper ballots and electronic ballots in
a single unit. As a result, precincts do not need to purchase
several different types of voting equipment in order to provide
different voting options to the voters. In addition, poll workers
need only be familiar with and trained on a single type of voting
equipment. Further, the voting selections associated with both
paper ballots and electronic ballots may be collectively tabulated
without the need to combine vote totals from several different
types of voting equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a
voting system in accordance with the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the various internal components
of the voting device of FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of
an accessible voting station used in connection with the voting
system of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the voting console of FIG.
3.
[0019] FIGS. 5A-5B are a process flow diagram of an exemplary
operation of the voting system of FIG. 1 in the paper ballot
mode.
[0020] FIGS. 6A-6G are various screen shots of the display of the
voting device of FIG. 1 when in the paper ballot mode.
[0021] FIGS. 7A-7B are a process flow diagram of an exemplary
operation of the voting system of FIG. 1 in the electronic ballot
mode.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram of an exemplary operation
of the voting system of FIG. 1 in the audio ballot mode.
[0023] FIGS. 9A-9M are various screen shots of the display of the
voting device of FIG. 1 when in the audio ballot mode.
[0024] FIGS. 10A-10D are various screen shots of the display of the
voting device of FIG. 1 when opening and closing a poll.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
[0025] The present invention is directed to an integrated voting
system and method for accommodating both paper ballots and
electronic ballots. While the invention will be described in detail
below with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it should be
understood that the invention is not limited to the specific system
configuration or methodology of this embodiment. In addition,
although the exemplary embodiment is described as embodying several
different inventive features, one skilled in the art will
appreciate that any one of these features could be implemented
without the others in accordance with the invention.
Exemplary Configuration of Voting System
[0026] Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a voting
system in accordance with the present invention is shown as
reference numeral 10. Voting system 10 comprises a voting device 12
that generally includes a protective housing 14 with various
internal components (as described in detail with reference to FIG.
2), a ballot insertion tray 16, a display 18 and a report printer
20. Each of these components will be described in detail below.
[0027] Protective housing 14 is preferably made of injection-molded
plastic and has a modular "clamshell" design that provides easy
access for maintenance and set up activities. Of course, other
materials and designs are also within the scope of the present
invention. Protective housing 14 preferably comprises three primary
sections to assist in ease of manufacturing and maintenance: base
section 14a, front cover section 14b, and rear cover section 14c.
In addition, various access doors (not shown) may be included to
provide access to a variety of switches, connections and
interfaces. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, a locked
access door is provided to secure access to a power switch, a
"close polls" switch, and a modem with an RJ-11 connection and
antenna (discussed further in connection with the main access board
66 of FIG. 2). Another locked access door is provided to secure
access to various USB port interfaces for removable USB flash
drives (discussed further in connection with the USB board 64 of
FIG. 2).
[0028] The back of protective housing 14 preferably includes a
variety of external ports (not shown), such as a USB hub 70 (FIG.
2) and other types of ports that are standard and well known in the
art. The back of protective housing 14 also preferably includes a
personalized electronic ballot (PEB) reader/writer (discussed
further in connection with the PEB board 68 of FIG. 2). Of course,
the external ports and PEB reader/writer may be located in other
locations provided they do not interfere with the use of the voting
device 12.
[0029] The ballot insertion tray 16 is provided to receive a paper
ballot for scanning and tabulation. The ballot insertion tray 16 is
preferably molded into the front cover section 14b of protective
housing 14 and is approximately 8.525 inches wide in order to
accommodate an 8.5 inch wide standard-size ballot, such as ballot
22 shown in FIG. 1. The ballot insertion tray 16 can, however, be
designed to fit any size ballot. An additional tray insert (not
shown) having reversible paper guides may be mounted into the
ballot insertion tray 16. For example, when the paper guides are
oriented down, the ballot insertion tray 16 may accommodate an 8.5
inch wide ballot. When the paper guides are oriented up, a 4.25
inch wide ballot may be supported. An arrow graphic is also
preferably molded onto the ballot insertion tray 16 or additional
tray insert to indicate the proper insertion of the ballot. Lastly,
the ballot insertion tray 16 preferably has a ribbed texture to
assist with reducing static buildup.
[0030] The display 18 is preferably an LCD touch screen display
with a landscape orientation. The display 18 may be a standard,
off-the-shelf component which is readily available and well known
in the art. For example, the display 18 may be a standard size of
10.4 inches or 12.1 inches, measured diagonally, and approximately
82.times.82 dpi. Most preferably, the display 18 is an LG Philips
12.1'' SVGA (800.times.600) TFT color display model LB121S03-TL01,
which has a color depth of LVDS 6-bit, 262,144 colors and an
anti-glare surface treatment. Of course, other types of touch
screen displays may also be utilized in accordance with the present
invention.
[0031] The display 18 is connected to the upper portion of voting
device 12 by two hinges 24--one located on each side of the display
18--which enable the display 18 to open up during use or fold down
flat during storage. For security and protection, the display 18
preferably incorporates a locking mechanism. The voting device 12
may include an LCD switch 72 (FIG. 2) that will sense that the
display 18 is open to thereby power up without necessitating a poll
worker physically turning on the display 18. Similarly, the LCD
switch 72 will sense that the display 18 is closed to thereby power
down after a specified period of time.
[0032] Alternatively, if the display 18 is not configured as a
touch screen display, the voting device 12 would also include
another type of input device, such as a keyboard, a joystick, a
pointing device, a trackball or a touch pad. The display 18 may
also comprise a cathode ray tube (CRT) display configured as a
touch screen display located external to the voting device 12. In
such a configuration, the display would be connected to the voting
device 12 through a dedicated I/O connector of the voting device
12. Of course, other types of displays and input devices are also
possible and within the scope of the present invention.
[0033] As will be described in greater detail below, the display 18
provides an improved voter interface that may be used to display
information associated with a scanned paper ballot to the voter
(e.g., information on ballot irregularities) and receive voter
feedback. The display 18 may also be used to present an electronic
ballot to the voter, whereby the voter may vote by touching the
appropriate locations on the display 18 with either a finger or a
computer pen (not shown).
[0034] The report printer 20 is an internal printer for device
level and polling place level reporting, including the printing of
reports at poll opening and poll closing (as are known in the art).
The report printer 20 is a standard printer that is readily
available and well known to those skilled in the art. The report
printer 20 is capable of printing on paper that is approximately 3
inches wide and is of the drop-in roll paper type. As shown in FIG.
1, the paper passes through an aperture in the protective housing
14 such that it is easily accessible by users.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, voting device 12 mounts onto the top of
a ballot receptacle 26. The base of voting device 12 includes four
mounting feet (not shown) that provide airflow under the unit and
allow it to be securely inserted into a recessed area of the ballot
receptacle 26. In this embodiment, voting device 12 slides onto
mounting rails (not shown) located on top of the ballot receptacle
26. A hinged door (not shown) may be located on the front of the
ballot receptacle 26 and may be raised up and locked into place to
further secure the voting device 12. The ballot receptacle 26 is
preferably made of steel or a durable plastic material for security
purposes. In operation, scanned and tabulated ballots are deposited
directly into the ballot receptacle 26. In addition, the ballot
receptacle 26 preferably includes a compartment 28 that poll
workers can use to temporarily store uncounted ballots in the event
of a power failure, scanner error, or the like. Of course, the
ballot receptacle 26 may have other configurations as are well
known to those skilled in the art.
[0036] Turning to FIG. 2, the internal components of voting device
12 are shown in a block diagram format and generally include: a
ballot scanner assembly 50, a CPU board 52, a display assembly 54,
a printer controller board 56, an internal power supply 58, an
internal battery pack 60, a power management board 62, a USB board
64, a main access board 66, a PEB board 68, a USB hub 70, and an
LCD switch 72 (discussed above). It should be understood that the
various components and subsystems are connected to each other as
shown in FIG. 2.
[0037] The ballot scanner assembly 50 includes a scanner board that
provides the image capture, processing and transport control
functions associated with scanning a paper ballot. The ballot
scanner assembly 50 utilizes a set of sensors to monitor each paper
ballot as it is placed in the ballot insertion tray 16 of voting
device 12 and travels through the ballot transport mechanism (not
shown). These sensors detect the position of the ballot, check for
multiple ballots and confirm the release of the ballot into the
ballot receptacle 26. There may also be a security sensor that
detects counterfeit ballots and ballots that have been tampered
with. The ballot scanner assembly 50 utilizes two contact image
sensors to produce a bitmap image of the paper ballot (preferably
at 200 dpi or greater). One contact image sensor is positioned to
read the top surface of the ballot and the other contact image
sensor is positioned to read the bottom surface of the ballot. The
imaging of the top and bottom surfaces of the ballot preferably
occurs simultaneously. The paper ballot is pulled across the
contact image sensors to capture the ballot image. In this
embodiment, the ballot scanner assembly 50 utilizes image capture
technology available from Ricoh Electronics, Inc. The ballot image
captured by the ballot scanner assembly 50 is passed to the CPU
board 52, which decodes and tabulates the voting selections marked
on the scanned ballot (described further below).
[0038] The CPU board 52 is a commercial off-the-shelf board that
generally controls the operation of voting device 12 for all three
modes of operation: the paper ballot mode, the electronic ballot
mode and the audio ballot mode (described in greater detail below).
The CPU board 52 is preferably capable of executing at least two
independent processes concurrently so that either the paper ballot
mode or the electronic ballot mode may be executed concurrently
with the audio ballot mode. Accordingly, it is preferable to use an
operating system that includes multi-tasking functionality, such as
Linux and other operating systems known in the art. In this
embodiment, the CPU board 52 is a VIA Embedded Platform EPIA-CL
with a VIA C3.TM. or VIA Eden.TM. ESP processor. The CPU board 52
may include any type of memory that is suitable for storing
information necessary for the operation of voting device 12, as is
well known in the art.
[0039] Many of the other internal components of voting device 12
are also well known in the art. For example, the display assembly
54 includes an LCD display touch screen, a backlight inverter and a
touch screen controller that provides an interface to display 18.
The printer controller board 56 provides an interface to the report
printer 20. In addition, the USB hub 70 provides a plurality of
external USB ports that provide a connection for a variety of
external devices, including an audit log printer assembly 80
(described below in connection with FIG. 1) and a voting console
104 with associated ballot printer/reader assembly 108 (described
below in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4).
[0040] The USB board 64 includes a plurality of external USB port
interfaces that accommodate removable USB flash drives or any other
type of removable data storage system. The removable USB flash
drives may be used to store the election definition and the
accumulated vote totals for voting device 12. Also, the removable
USB flash drives may be used to store the images of the scanned
ballots, which may be accessed at a later time for audit purposes
(applicable in the paper ballot mode of operation, described
below). The removable USB flash drives may further be used to store
a back-up copy of an electronic audit log, which may be removed
after the election for transport to election headquarters
(applicable in the electronic ballot mode of operation, described
below).
[0041] The PEB board 68 provides an interface to a PEB
reader/writer for reading information from and writing information
to various PEBs, such as a master PEB, a supervisor PEB and/or a
voter PEB (applicable in the electronic ballot mode of operation,
described below). The configuration of the PEB reader/writer is
described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,329 assigned to
the assignee of the present application, which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
[0042] The main access board 66 includes a power switch and a
"close polls" switch. The main access board 66 also includes a
modem with an RJ-11 connector and antenna, which provide both
landline and wireless modem options for transmitting vote results
to a central vote accumulation site.
[0043] The voting device 12 is powered by a power management
subsystem that includes the power management board 62, an internal
battery pack 60, and an internal ITX power supply 58. The power
management board 62 is a custom power supply board which receives
its input from an external brick power supply that operates on
standard AC-volt lines. The internal battery pack 60 (preferably a
re-chargeable Lithium-Ion type) provides up to two hours of
operation during a loss of AC power. The internal ITX power supply
58 provides power to the CPU board 52, as is known in the art. The
power management board 62 monitors the status of and charges the
internal battery pack 60, and automatically switches from the
external brick power supply to the internal battery pack 60 as
needed.
[0044] Referring back to FIG. 1, voting system 10 includes an audit
log printer assembly 80 located external to voting device 12 that
is operable to print an audit log of the voter actions and/or poll
worker actions taken at the voting device 12 during the electronic
ballot mode of operation (described below). In the exemplary
embodiment, the audit log printer assembly 80 includes a printer
(not shown) that is operable to print the voter actions and/or poll
worker actions on a printable medium, such as a continuous paper
roll or folded sheets of paper stock, to create the audit log.
Preferably, the audit log is printed in real-time as the voter
actions and/or poll worker actions are taken at the voting device
12.
[0045] The printable medium is secured within a locked housing 82
such that the printable medium is inaccessible to a voter using the
voting system 10. Specifically, the printable medium is stored
within a supply compartment 84 prior to printing and, during
printing, the audit log is transported along a paper transport path
86 to a storage bin 88. Of course, poll workers would have access
to locked housing 82 via a lock 90 in order to load the printable
medium, unload the audit log, clear any paper jams, etc.
Preferably, locked housing 82 includes a display window 92 that
enables a voter to review a portion of the audit log associated
with the voter in order to verify the correctness of the voter
actions printed on the printable medium. A magnifier may optionally
be provided to assist the voter in reviewing the audit log. As
such, the printed audit log may be used for both auditing purposes
and voter verification.
[0046] The audit log printer assembly 80 is connected to the voting
device 12 via a USB cable 94 (which connects to one of the USB
ports of USB hub 70). While audit log printer assembly 80 is
located external to voting device 12 in the exemplary embodiment,
it should be understood that audit log printer assembly 80 could
also be included as part of voting device 12 or mounted in another
location. Of course, one skilled in the art will appreciate that
other configurations for audit log printer assembly 80 are within
the scope of the present invention.
[0047] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, voting system 10 further
includes an accessible voting station 100 that allows voters with
disabilities to vote independently when the voting device 12 is
operating in the audio ballot mode (described below). The
accessible voting station 100 generally includes a privacy screen
102, a voting console 104 with associated headphones 106, and a
ballot printer/reader assembly 108. Preferably, the accessible
voting station 100 complies with the requirements of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the 2002 and 2005 voluntary voting
system guidelines (VVSG).
[0048] The privacy screen 102 includes a lower wall section 102a
that interlocks with an upper wall section 102b to form a standing
voting booth. A tabletop section 102c slides into and is supported
by the lower and upper wall sections 102a and 102b, thereby forming
a shelf surface to support the voting console 104. The lower wall
section 102a, upper wall section 102b and tabletop section 102c are
preferably formed of plastic, corrugated plastic or any other
suitable material. It can be appreciated that the privacy screen
102 may be easily assembled and disassembled by a poll worker and
may be folded into a relatively flat configuration for transport
and/or storage.
[0049] An exemplary embodiment of the voting console 104 is shown
in FIG. 4. The voting console 104 includes an audio connection 110
for headphones 106. As will be described in greater detail below, a
voter may use the voting console 104 and headphones 106 to navigate
through an audio representation of the ballot. Specifically, the
voter navigates through the audio ballot using the "up" 112a,
"down" 112b, "back" 112c and "next" 112d buttons on the voting
console 104 and selects his/her votes using the center "select"
button 112e. The voter also has the ability to control the audio
volume through the use of the "volume" up and down buttons 114a,
114b and the rate of speech through the use of the "tempo" up and
down buttons 116a, 116b. The voting console 104 also has an
"information" button 118 that provides instructions at any time
during the voting session. A voter may also press a "repeat" button
120 to have the instructions or audio ballot presentation repeated.
It can be appreciated that voters who are blind or vision-impaired
would use the Braille markings on the voting console 104 to select
the appropriate button. Finally, a connection port 122 is provided
to accommodate other types of input devices, such as a sip and puff
straw, large paddles, and any one of numerous other accessible
devices that are known in the art. The connected input device would
act as a mouse-type controller to operate the buttons on the voting
console 104.
[0050] Referring back to FIG. 3, the ballot printer/reader assembly
108 includes a printer (not shown) operable to print a ballot that
identifies the voting selections entered by the voter using the
voting console 104. Preferably, the printed ballot includes a
description of each contest, the name of the selected candidate for
each contest and an associated barcode for each contest. The
printed ballot may also include information on any under voted
contests. It should be understood that all of the information
printed on the ballot is human-readable except for the barcodes,
which are printed in a machine-readable format. Of course, other
ballot configurations are also within the scope of the present
invention. The ballot printer/reader assembly 108 also includes a
barcode reader (not shown) operable to read the barcodes printed on
the ballot. It can be appreciated that the barcode reader is
preferably located in proximity to the ballot printer in order to
effectively read the barcodes printed on the ballot.
[0051] The ballot printer and barcode reader are securely mounted
within a locked ballot bin 128 to prevent voter access to the
printed ballots collected therein. The ballot bin 128 is preferably
made of steel or a durable plastic material for security purposes,
although other materials would also be acceptable. Poll workers
would have access to ballot bin 128 via a lock 130 in order to load
paper stock, remove the printed ballots, clear any paper jams, etc.
In this embodiment, the voter is not able to review the printed
ballot collected within the ballot bin 128. Of course, one skilled
in the art will appreciate that other configurations in which the
voter is given the opportunity to review the printed ballot are
also within the scope of the present invention.
[0052] Preferably, the processing resources needed for the
operation of the voting console 104 and ballot printer/reader
assembly 108 are provided by the CPU board 52 of the voting device
12. As such, the voting console 104 and ballot printer/reader
assembly 108 are connected to the voting device 12 via USB cables
132a and 132b, respectively (which connect to two of the USB ports
of USB hub 70). Of course, other system configurations are also
within the scope of the present invention.
[0053] Exemplary Operation of Voting System
[0054] An exemplary operation of the voting system 10 will now be
described. First, a poll worker opens the poll by depressing the
"power" switch located on the main access board 66 of voting device
12 and transferring the election definition data for a particular
voting precinct to the voting device 12. The transfer of the
election definition data may be effectuated by a variety of
different means. For example, a removable USB flash drive may be
inserted into one of the USB ports of USB board 64. Alternatively,
a master PEB may be inserted into the PEB reader/writer of PEB
board 68. Of course, other means are also within the scope of the
present invention.
[0055] Next, voting device 12 displays a "voting device ready"
screen on display 18 as shown in FIG. 10A. The "voting device
ready" screen includes a message indicating that the voting device
is ready for the poll to be opened (e.g., "This voting device is
ready for poll to be opened. Election definition found. Plugged
into electricity!"). It can be seen that the "voting device ready"
screen also includes a hint (e.g., "Make sure the election
definition is correct and that there is report paper in the voting
machine before continuing with opening the poll."). Finally, it can
be seen that the "voting device ready" screen includes two
selection buttons--"Don't Open-Turn Off" and "Open Poll." If the
poll worker selects the "Don't Open--Turn Off" button, voting
device 12 will power down. However, if the poll worker selects the
"Open Poll" button, the poll will be open and, depending on the
options set for the election definition, the voting device 12 may
automatically print a variety of reports as are known in the
art.
[0056] Next, voting device 12 displays a "poll open" screen on
display 18 as shown in FIG. 10B. The "poll open" screen includes a
message indicating that the poll is open and the voting device is
ready for voting (e.g., "The poll is open and the voting device is
now ready for voting. For report options press `Report Options`
now. To start accepting ballots press `Go to Voting Mode.` Please
close the access door and place the key in a secure location."). It
can be seen that the "poll open" screen also includes a hint (e.g.,
"Check your poll worker instructions for further details on poll
opening tasks."). Finally, it can be seen that the "poll open"
screen includes two selection buttons--"Report Options" and "Go to
Voting Mode." If the poll worker selects the "Report Options"
button, a variety of different report options will be displayed.
However, if the poll worker selects the "Go to Voting Mode" button,
the voting device 12 will be ready for voting.
[0057] The voting device 12 is preferably capable of executing
three different modes: paper ballot mode, electronic ballot mode
and audio ballot mode (each of which will be described in greater
detail below). A voter may choose one of these different voting
options depending on voter preference. While some voters may choose
to vote by marking a paper ballot, other voters may choose to vote
via an electronic ballot. In addition, other voters (e.g., blind or
vision-impaired voters) may choose to vote via an audio ballot. In
the exemplary embodiment, the voting device 12 may operate in
either the paper ballot mode or the electronic ballot mode (but not
both modes concurrently). However, the audio ballot mode is
executed separate and apart from the paper ballot mode and the
electronic ballot mode. Therefore, at any given time, the audio
ballot mode may be executed concurrently with either the paper
ballot mode or the electronic ballot mode.
[0058] In order to determine if the voting device 12 is operating
in the paper ballot mode or the electronic ballot mode, the voting
device 12 may be programmed to detect one or more user inputs. For
example, the electronic ballot mode may be activated by (i)
inserting a USB device into a USB port of USB hub 70, (ii)
inserting a PEB into a PEB reader/writer of PEB board 68 (described
below), (iii) placing a control sheet with specific
machine-readable control codes in the ballot insertion tray 16 of
voting device 12, or (iv) entering a command into the touch screen
display 18 of voting device 12. The paper ballot mode may be
activated by (i) placing the paper ballot in the ballot insertion
tray 16 of voting device 12 or (ii) entering a command into the
touch screen display 18 of voting device 12. Of course, the voting
device 12 may be programmed to default to either the paper ballot
mode or the electronic ballot mode as desired. One skilled in the
art will appreciate that the above methods for determining the mode
of operation are merely examples and may be employed separately or
in combination in accordance with the present invention.
[0059] At poll closing, the poll worker depresses the "close polls"
switch located on the main access board 66 of voting device 12. In
response, voting device 12 displays an interim "close poll" screen
on display 18 as shown in FIG. 10C. The interim "close poll" screen
includes a message indicating that the poll is about to be closed
(e.g., "You have chosen to close the poll for this voting device.
To return to voting mode now, press `Don't Close--Keep Voting.` To
continue closing the poll, press `Close Poll.`"). It can be seen
that the interim "close poll" screen also includes a hint (e.g.,
"Check that there is report paper in the voting machine before
continuing with closing the poll."). Finally, it can be seen that
the "close poll" screen includes two selection buttons--"Don't
Close--Keep Voting" and "Close Poll." If the poll worker selects
the "Don't Close--Keep Voting" button, voting device 12 will
continue with voting. However, if the poll worker selects the
"Close Poll" button, the poll will close and, depending on the
options set for the election definition, the voting device 12 may
automatically print a variety of reports as are known in the
art.
[0060] Finally, voting device 12 displays a final "poll closed"
screen on display 18 as shown in FIG. 10D. The final "poll closed"
screen includes a message indicating that the poll is closed for
voting (e.g., "This voting device has been successfully closed for
voting. To re-open poll (if enabled) for this voting device now,
press `Re-open Poll.` For report options, press `Report Options`
now. If you are finished, press `Finished--Turn Off` to power down
the machine, and secure the screen."). It can be seen that the
final "poll closed" screen also includes a hint (e.g., "Check your
poll worker instructions for further details on poll closing
tasks."). Finally, it can be seen that the final "poll closed"
screen includes three selection buttons--"Re-Open Poll," "Report
Options" and "Finished--Turn Off." If the poll worker selects the
"Re-Open Poll" button, the voting device 12 will go back to voting.
If the poll worker selects the "Report Options" button, a variety
of different report options will be displayed. However, if the poll
worker selects the "Finished--Turn Off" button, the poll will be
officially closed.
[0061] Of course, it can be appreciated that the accumulated vote
totals for voting device 12 are transmitted to a central vote
accumulation site via a landline or wireless modem, such as the
modem of main access board 66. Alternatively, the accumulated vote
totals for voting device 12 may be transported to the central vote
accumulation site via a removable USB flash drive inserted into one
of the USB ports of USB board 64.
[0062] An exemplary operation of voting device 12 in the paper
ballot mode, the electronic ballot mode and the audio ballot mode
will now be described in detail below. Again, it should be
understood that the audio ballot mode may be executed concurrently
with either the paper ballot mode or the electronic ballot mode in
this exemplary embodiment.
Paper Ballot Mode
[0063] An exemplary operation of the voting device 12 in the paper
ballot mode will now be described with reference to blocks 200 to
222 of the process flow diagram shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. At block
200, the voting device 12 displays a "welcome" screen on display 18
as shown in FIG. 6A. The "welcome" screen displays a message (e.g.,
"Welcome. Please insert your ballot.") and a graphical depiction of
the voting device demonstrating the proper insertion of the ballot
into the ballot insertion tray (wherein the demonstration may be
either static or moving). The "welcome" screen also includes a
horizontally scrollable list of available languages at the bottom
of the screen. The list of languages can be customized to include
the most frequently used languages for a particular precinct
location. Furthermore, the "welcome" screen may be set up to offer
the most frequently used languages on the display, wherein other
languages are available by scrolling through the list using the
scroll bar.
[0064] At block 202, the ballot position sensors continuously
monitor whether a paper ballot has been inserted into the ballot
insertion tray 16 and, upon detection of a ballot, the ballot is
fed into the ballot scanner assembly 50. Upon receiving a paper
ballot, the voting device 12 displays a "scanning ballot" screen on
display 18 as shown in FIG. 6B, prompting the voter to wait until
the voting selections marked on the ballot have been processed.
Referring back to FIG. 5A, at block 204, the ballot scanner
assembly 50 scans the paper ballot so as to capture an image of the
ballot. For double-sided ballots, both sides of the paper ballot
are preferably scanned simultaneously so as to capture an image of
each side of the ballot. As discussed above, the removable USB
flash drives of USB board 64 may be used to store the images of the
scanned ballots, which may be accessed at a later time for audit
purposes.
[0065] At block 206, the CPU board 52 analyzes the captured image
of the ballot so as to decode the voting selections marked on the
ballot. Preferably, the voting selections are decoded using
intelligent mark recognition (IMR) technology as described in U.S.
Pat. No. 6,854,644 assigned to the assignee of the present
application, which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety. The paper ballot may contain identification marks that
allow the CPU board 52 to verify that the ballot is valid for a
specific polling place, and, to select the proper ballot template
(which is provided as part of the election definition loaded into
the voting device 12 via the removable USB flash drive or PEB at
poll opening) for decoding the voting selections marked on the
ballot.
[0066] At block 208, the voting device 12 identifies any
irregularities associated with the paper ballot, including scanning
errors (e.g., read errors or unclear marks) and errors relating to
the decoding of the voting selections marked on the ballot (e.g.,
over votes and under votes). At block 210, if one or more
irregularities are detected, the voting device 12 displays a
"ballot errors" screen on display 18 identifying the nature of the
identified errors, as shown in FIG. 6C. The "ballot errors" screen
provides clear feedback to the voter on the disposition of his/her
paper ballot. The "ballot errors" screen displays a notification
that one or more contests are not correctly voted (e.g., "One or
more of the contests are not correctly voted. The following error
conditions exist."), a list of encountered error types (e.g., "Over
Voted Contests" and "Under Voted Contests"), and the number of
contests affected with each listed error type. It can be seen that
the "ballot errors" screen also includes instructions on how to
proceed (e.g., "If you wish to correct your ballot press `Don't
Cast--Return Ballot`, else press `Review Errors` to adjudicate the
errors."). Finally, it can be seen that the "ballot errors" screen
includes three selection buttons--"Don't Cast--Return Ballot"
(described below), "Review Errors," and "Cast Ballot" (described
below).
[0067] Generally, by selecting one of the detected irregularities
and then touching the "Review Errors" button, the voter is
presented with a new screen listing the affected contests and
describing the selected error type. Examples of the types of
message screens that may be displayed on the display 18 of voting
device 12 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 6D to
6F.
[0068] An exemplary "under-vote" screen listing the under voted
contests is shown in FIG. 6D. The "under-vote" screen includes
identifying information for each of the under-voted contests (e.g.,
the "Contest Title") and instructions for correcting the
under-voted contests on the ballot (e.g., "If you wish to correct
your ballot press `Don't Cast--Return Ballot` and mark your choices
on the ballot."). Finally, it can be seen that the "under-vote"
screen includes two selection buttons--"Don't Cast--Return Ballot"
(described below) and "Accept" (described below).
[0069] An exemplary "over-vote" screen listing the over-voted
contests is depicted in FIG. 6E. The "over-vote" screen includes
identifying information for each of the over-voted contests (e.g.,
"Contest Title") and instructions for correcting the over-voted
contests on the ballot (e.g., "If you wish to correct your ballot
press `Don't Cast--Return Ballot` and see the election official for
a new ballot."). Finally, it can be seen that the "over-vote"
screen includes two selection buttons--"Don't Cast--Return Ballot"
(described below) and "Accept" (described below).
[0070] An example of an "over-vote" screen used in jurisdictions
that prohibit casting over-voted ballots is depicted in FIG. 6F. It
can be seen that the "over-vote" screen does not allow casting the
ballot, providing only one button--"OK"--for returning the ballot
to the voter. The screen shown in FIG. 6F also depicts a method for
displaying a list of contests where the number of contests with
irregularities exceeds the available screen space reserved for the
list. The contests are distributed among a number of pages, with
left-pointing and right-pointing arrows that allow scrolling
through the pages.
[0071] Referring to FIG. 5B, at block 212, a determination is made
as to whether the paper ballot should be returned to the voter. It
can be appreciated that this determination is made based upon
whether the voter selects the "Don't Cast--Return Ballot" button or
the "Cast Ballot/Accept" button on the screens depicted in FIGS. 6C
to 6E, or, whether the error relates to the scanning of the ballot.
If the voter selects the "Don't Cast--Return Ballot" button or if
the error relates to the scanning of the ballot, the ballot is
returned to the voter at block 214, preferably by feeding the
ballot in the opposite direction through the ballot insertion tray
16. At this point, the voter may either correct the error on the
same paper ballot or obtain a new ballot from a poll worker. If the
voter selects the "Cast Ballot" button, the contests with
irregularities (e.g., under-votes and/or over-votes) will not be
included in the final tabulation while the remaining contests will
be tabulated appropriately. It should be noted that the voting
rules in some jurisdictions may prohibit casting ballots containing
certain voting irregularities (e.g., over voted ballots). In those
jurisdictions, if one or more prohibited irregularities are
detected, the "Cast Ballot" button will not be displayed as an
option.
[0072] At block 216, upon casting the ballot, the voting device 12
displays a "thank you for voting" screen on the display 18
informing the voter that his/her voting selections have been
tabulated. An example of such a "thank you for voting" screen is
depicted in FIG. 6G. The "thank you for voting" screen displays a
short message (e.g., "Thank you for voting. Your ballot has been
counted."). Preferably, the message will be displayed for
approximately 3 seconds or until the next ballot is inserted into
the ballot insertion tray 16.
[0073] Next, at block 218 in FIG. 5B, the votes are tabulated by
the CPU board 32 and stored in one of the removable USB flash
drives of USB board 64 (noting, of course, that any contest with
errors, such as under-votes and/or over-votes, are not tabulated).
Then, at block 220, the public and protected counts (described
below) are incremented by one to thereby provide confirmation that
the ballot has been tabulated. At block 222, the ballot is dropped
into the secure ballot receptacle 26 where it is retained for audit
purposes, as is known in the art.
[0074] Finally, it should be understood that the screens shown in
FIGS. 6A-6G are merely examples of the type of message screens that
may be used to implement the various features of the invention. One
skilled in the art will appreciate that other message screens could
alternatively be used that display the information in a different
format and/or that display different types of information. Of
course, other types of message screens (both for use by voters and
poll workers) may be used in accordance with the invention.
Electronic Ballot Mode
[0075] An exemplary operation of the voting device 12 in the
electronic ballot mode will now be described with reference to
blocks 300 to 322 of the process flow diagram shown in FIGS. 7A and
7B. At block 300, an electronic ballot voting session may be
activated in a variety of different ways (as discussed above). In
the exemplary embodiment, the electronic ballot voting session is
activated by inserting a PEB into the PEB reader/writer of PEB
board 68. Then, at block 302, audit log printer assembly 80 prints
a description of the action on the audit log(e.g., "voting session
activated").
[0076] It should be understood that there are two possible modes of
activation for an electronic ballot voting session: poll worker
activation and voter activation. In poll worker activation mode, a
poll worker inserts a supervisor PEB into the PEB reader/writer,
whereby the various races to be voted on are displayed on the
display 18. By contrast, in voter activation mode, a poll worker
activates a voter PEB at a supervisor terminal by writing an
activation security code to the voter PEB. The poll worker provides
the voter PEB to the voter who proceeds to the voting device 12 and
inserts the voter PEB into the PEB reader/writer. The PEB
reader/writer reads the activation security code from the voter
PEB, whereby the various races to be voted on are displayed on the
display 18. After the voter has completed the voting process, the
PEB reader/writer writes a deactivation security code to the voter
PEB so that the voter PEB cannot be used again for voting until it
is reactivated by a poll worker at the supervisor terminal.
[0077] After the electronic ballot voting session has been
activated, the voting device 12 displays the ballot data (i.e., the
various races to be voted on) on display 18 at block 304. Then, at
block 306, audit log printer assembly 80 prints a description of
the action on the audit log (e.g., "ballot displayed"). At block
308, the voter selects his/her votes by touching the appropriate
locations on the touch screen of display 18. In response, audit log
printer assembly 80 prints a description of each action on the
audit log at block 310 (e.g., "Governor: select candidate A";
Governor: de-select candidate A", Governor: select candidate B",
etc.).
[0078] Referring to FIG. 7B, at block 312, after all of the votes
have been selected, voting device 12 displays a summary page on
display 18 for review by the voter (at which time the voter may
change any of the selected votes). This summary page includes a
summary of each of the selected candidates/referendum positions, as
well as a summary of the under-voted contests. In response, audit
log printer assembly 80 prints a description of the action on the
audit log at block 314 (e.g., "summary page displayed"). At block
316, once the voter verifies that the summary of selected votes is
correct, the voter touches a "vote" button on the touch screen of
display 18. At block 318, the selected votes are stored in an
internal memory of the voting device 12. In response, audit log
printer assembly 80 prints a description of the action on the audit
log at block 320 (e.g., "ballot cast").
[0079] In addition, at block 322, audit log printer assembly 80
also prints a voter barcode on the audit log. The voter barcode
contains information corresponding to the ballot cast by the voter
(e.g., the final vote selections of the voter), and is preferably
printed on the audit log proximate to the printed voter actions for
the voter. In the exemplary embodiment, each of the voter barcodes
may be scanned by a commercially available 2D barcode reader. Thus,
the scanned information from the voter barcodes may be randomly
compared against the voter actions printed on the audit log for
auditing purposes.
[0080] In the exemplary embodiment, audit log printer assembly 80
may optionally print a vote summary on the audit log that includes
a voting device barcode. The voting device barcode may contain the
serial number of the voting device 12, the total ballots cast on
the voting device 12 in the electronic ballot mode, and the vote
totals for each candidate and/or referendum issue within each race.
Preferably, the voting device barcode is printed at the end of the
audit log so that it may be easily scanned by a commercially
available barcode reader for verification purposes after the
election is over.
Audio Ballot Mode
[0081] An exemplary operation of the voting device 12 in the audio
ballot mode will now be described with reference to blocks 400 to
420 of the process flow diagram shown in FIG. 8. At block 400, the
poll worker initiates an audio ballot voting session via an
administration screen displayed on the display 18 of voting device
12. An example audio ballot initiation process will be described
with reference to the screen shown in FIGS. 9A to 9J.
[0082] To access the audio ballot settings, the poll worker must
select the "Admin" button located at the top right corner of each
of the display screens. Upon selection of the "Admin" button, the
voting device 12 displays an "enter password" screen on display 18
as shown in FIG. 9A. The "enter password" screen displays a full
alphanumeric QWERTY keyboard, a text entry field for entry of an
election password, an instruction line prompting the poll worker to
enter the password (e.g., "Enter Election Password"), and two
selection buttons--"Accept" and "Cancel." Upon entering the
election password and selecting the "Accept" button, the poll
worker is presented with an "administration" screen as shown in
FIG. 9B.
[0083] As can be seen in FIG. 9B, the "administration" screen
provides functions necessary for the administration of the voting
system 10. Various administrative functions are assigned to
vertically aligned tabs shown at the left-hand side of the
"administration" screen. The selection of each tab will cause the
display of a number of related administration functions. For
example, selection of the "Audio Ballot" tab causes the display of
four audio ballot control functions (e.g., "Select and Activate
Audio Ballot," "Cast Audio Ballot," "Cancel Audio Ballot" and
"Pause/Resume Audio Session"). In order to activate an audio ballot
voting session, the poll worker selects the "Select and Activate
Audio Ballot" button.
[0084] Upon selection of the "Select and Activate Audio Ballot"
button, the voting device 12 displays an "audio ballot selection
options" screen on display 18 as shown in FIG. 9C. The "audio
ballot selection options" screen includes instructions for
modifying the audio ballot settings (e.g., "Touch the item on the
right you want to set, or Press `Next` to go through all of the
available options."). Three screen areas are provided for a
"Provisional" ballot, "Precinct" and "Ballot Style" settings. The
number and types of available settings can be defined for each
precinct, with the "Ballot Style" setting being a mandatory
setting. Finally, it can be seen that the "audio ballot selection
options" screen includes two selection buttons--"Back" and
"Next."
[0085] By selecting either the "Next" or "Provisional" buttons, the
voting device 12 displays a "provisional audio ballot selection"
screen on the display 18 as shown in FIG. 9D. The "provisional
audio ballot selection" screen displays a numeric keyboard, which
can be substituted by a full keyboard, for entering the number of a
Provisional Ballot. The "full keyboard" button causes a full
keyboard to be displayed. The "provisional audio ballot selection"
screen further includes instructions on how to select a Provisional
Ballot (e.g., "Type the number of your Provisional Ballot and press
`Accept`"), and two selection buttons--"Cancel" and "Accept." Upon
selection of the "Accept" button, the voting device 12 stores the
entered number of the Provisional Ballot.
[0086] Referring back to the "audio ballot selection options"
screen of FIG. 9C, if the "Precinct" button is selected, the voting
device 12 displays a "precinct ballot selection" screen on the
display 18 as shown in FIG. 9E. The "precinct ballot selection"
screen includes a numeric keyboard for entering a precinct number,
and instructions for making the selection (e.g., "Type the number
of your precinct and press `Search`. If you make a mistake, press
`Backspace` to clear the number."). It can be seen that the
"precinct ballot selection" screen includes two selection
buttons--"Back" and "Search."
[0087] Upon selection of the "Search" button, the voting device 12
searches through a list of stored precincts to locate corresponding
precinct numbers, and displays the results of the search in the
"available precincts" screen shown in FIG. 9F. If the number of
available precincts exceeds the allocated screen area, the
precincts are divided into two or more pages wherein left-pointing
and right-pointing buttons allow the poll worker to scroll through
the pages. The "available precincts" screen also includes
instructions for making selections (e.g., "Select your Precinct and
press `Next.` If it is not available, press `Back` to re-type your
precinct number."). Upon selection of a precinct name, a checkmark
appears next to the precinct name on the screen. Finally, it can be
seen that the "available precincts" screen includes two selection
buttons--"Back" and "Next." If the poll worker wishes to change the
search criteria, the poll worker can go back to the "precinct
ballot selection" screen by selecting the "Back" button. However,
if the poll worker is satisfied with the precinct selection, the
poll worker can select the "Next" button.
[0088] Upon selection of the "Next" button, the voting device 12
may display a variety of different screens on display 18 depending
on the type of election. For example, in a general election, the
"ballot style" screen shown in FIG. 9H may be displayed (discussed
below). However, in a primary election, a political party may first
be selected through the "political party" screen shown in FIG. 9G.
The "political party" screen displays a list of available political
parties. If the number of available political parties exceeds the
allocated screen area, the political parties are divided into two
or more pages wherein left-pointing and right-pointing buttons
allow the poll worker to scroll through the pages. The "political
party" screen also includes instructions for selecting a political
party (e.g., "Select a Political Party and press `Next`."). Upon
selection of a political party, a checkmark appears next to the
selected political party on the screen. Finally, it can be seen
that the "political party" screen includes two selection buttons
--"Back" and "Next."
[0089] Upon selection of the "Next" button, the voting device 12
displays the "ballot style" screen on the display 18 as shown in
FIG. 9H. The "ballot style" screen is used to select the ballot
style for the audio ballot voting session. The "ballot style"
screen displays a list of available ballot styles, which is a
subset of all ballot styles loaded into the voting device 12 as
part of the election definition. The subset is defined by the
precinct number and/or political party selected following the
selection process described above. Therefore, if no selections are
made in regard to the precinct number and/or political party, the
list of available ballot styles will include all ballot styles
loaded into the voting device 12. On the other hand, by making
selections for the precinct number and/or political party, the set
of available ballot styles is limited to ballot styles with
matching attributes.
[0090] On the "ballot style" screen, if the list of available
ballot styles exceeds the allocated screen area, the available
ballot styles are divided into two or more pages wherein
left-pointing and right-pointing buttons allow the poll worker to
scroll through the pages. The "political party" screen also
includes instructions on how to effectuate the ballot style
selection (e.g., "Select your Ballot Style and press `Next`.").
Upon selection of a ballot style, a checkmark appears next to the
selected ballot style on the screen. Finally, it can be seen that
the "ballot style" screen includes two selection buttons--"Back"
and "Next."
[0091] Upon selection of the "Next" button, the voting device 12
displays a "confirmation" screen on the display 18 as shown in FIG.
9I. The "confirmation" screen includes three screen areas
displaying the poll worker's selection of a "Provisional" ballot
number (if applicable), a "Precinct" and a "Ballot Style." The
"confirmation" screen also includes instructions on how to modify
the entered settings (e.g., "To change your selection touch a check
mark. To add an option touch an empty box"), and instructions
regarding the activation of the audio ballot voting session (e.g.,
"Please review each selection carefully. If they are correct press
`Activate`."). Finally, it can be seen that the "confirmation"
screen includes two selection buttons--"Main Menu" and "Activate."
The "Main Menu" button leads the poll worker to the
"administration" screen shown in FIG. 9B, while the "Activate"
button activates the audio ballot voting session and presents the
voter with an "audio ballot activated" screen as shown in FIG.
9J.
[0092] The "audio ballot activated" screen displays a notification
that the audio ballot has been successfully activated, and
instructions regarding further options available to the poll
worker. Specifically, the poll worker is notified that selecting
the "Back to Scanning" button will allow the voting device 12 to
continue processing paper or electronic ballots, while the "Go to
Status" button will display the status of the voting device
subsystems.
[0093] Referring back to FIG. 8, following activation of the audio
ballot voting session, the voting device 12 presents the audio
ballot to the voter at block 402. The form of the audio ballot
presentation is directly related to the ballot style selection made
as part of the activation process described above. Looking to the
accessible voting station 100 of FIG. 3, the voter is able to
listen to the audio ballot via the headphones 106. At block 404,
the voter makes his/her voting selections using the voting console
104 (as described in connection with FIG. 4). A summary of the
voting selections is read to the voter at block 406, whereby the
voter is prompted to reject or confirm the summary. If the voter
rejects the summary, the voter is allowed to repeat the voting
process. If the voter confirms the summary at block 408, a ballot
(described in connection with FIG. 3 above) is printed by the
ballot printer at block 410. It should be noted that the voting
selections are not stored in the memory of voting device 12;
rather, the printed ballot is the sole record of the voter's voting
selections.
[0094] At block 412, the printed ballot (which includes one or more
barcodes) is scanned by the barcode reader. At block 414, the
voting selection information extracted from the barcodes on the
printed ballot is presented to the voter via headphones 106, and
the voter is prompted to reject or confirm the scanned voting
selections. If the voter rejects the scanned voting selections, the
printed ballot is marked as "rejected" before being deposited into
the ballot bin 128 and the voter is allowed to repeat the voting
process. If the voter confirms the scanned voting selections at
block 416, the ballot is marked as "accepted" and deposited into
the ballot bin 128 at block 418. The audio ballot voting session
then ends at block 420.
[0095] If the voting device 12 detects an error condition during
the audio ballot voting session, the poll worker is notified via an
"accessible voting station status" headphones icon displayed
directly below the "Admin" button on each of the screens. The
"accessible voting station status" headphones icon is represented
by different colors to indicate the status of the audio ballot
voting session. Specifically, orange indicates that the audio
ballot voting session is inactive, green indicates that the audio
ballot voting session is active, yellow indicates that there is an
issue with the audio ballot voting session, and red indicates that
there is a critical error with the audio ballot voting session. In
case of a critical error, a pop-up window also appears on the
display 18 which requires the poll worker's immediate attention.
Preferably, the poll worker enters the administration screens by
selecting the "Admin" button and providing the election password,
as described with reference to FIG. 9A. An exemplary "error" screen
is shown in FIG. 9K. The "error" screen includes a notification as
to the source and the cause of the error (e.g., "An Error has
occurred in the Accessible Voting Station. There is a missing audio
file named `PlsMkSl`.") In addition, the "error" screen provided
detailed instructions to the poll worker (e.g., "Press `Cancel
Ballot` to confirm you want to end the Audio Ballot Voting Session"
and "Press `Go to Status` to troubleshoot the problem or see more
options"). The "error" screen also includes two selection
buttons--"Cancel Ballot" and "Go to Status" for receiving the poll
worker's further commands.
[0096] The poll worker can check the status of the voting device
subsystems by selecting the "Go to Status" button. Selecting the
"Cancel Ballot" button ends the audio ballot voting session and
causes the "audio ballot voting session successfully ended" screen
shown in FIG. 9M to be displayed on display 18. The "audio ballot
voting session successfully ended" screen displays a message
confirming the successful termination of the audio ballot voting
session (e.g., "You have successfully ended an Audio Ballot Voting
Session"). The screen also includes two selection buttons--"Back to
Scanning" and "Go to Status"--and provides detailed instructions
regarding these selection buttons (e.g., "Press `Back to Scanning`
to allow voters to continue scanning ballot pages" and "Press `Go
to Status` to view the status of all systems").
[0097] In the event that the poll worker needs to end a normally
executing audio ballot voting session, he/she may select the
"Cancel Audio Ballot" button associated with the "Audio Ballot" tab
shown in FIG. 9B. Upon selecting the "Cancel Audio Ballot" button,
the poll worker will be presented with a "confirmation" screen as
shown in FIG. 9L. The "confirmation" screen includes a notification
to the poll worker that the audio ballot voting session is about to
end (e.g., "You are about to end an Audio Ballot Voting Session"),
and provides detailed instructions on the available selections
(e.g., "Press `Cancel Ballot` to confirm you want to end the Audio
Ballot Voting Session" and "Press `Go to Status` to troubleshoot
the problem or see more options"). The "confirmation" screen also
includes two selection buttons--"Cancel Ballot" and "Go to Status."
The poll worker can check the status of the voting device
subsystems by selecting the "Go to Status" button, or end the audio
ballot voting session by selecting the "Cancel Ballot" button.
Selecting the "Cancel Ballot" button ends the audio ballot voting
session and causes the "audio ballot voting session successfully
ended" screen shown in FIG. 9M to be displayed on display 18
(described above).
[0098] Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 3, it should be noted that all
of the printed ballots deposited in ballot bin 128 of the
accessible voting station 100 will be collected by a poll worker
periodically during the election day or at the end of the election
day. The poll worker then proceeds to the voting device 12 and
inserts the printed ballots one-by-one into the ballot insertion
tray 16 for scanning and tabulation. Of course, it can be
appreciated that the voting device 12 will include a barcode reader
(not shown) operable to read the printed ballots.
[0099] It should be understood that alternative methods for
processing the audio ballots are possible and within the scope of
the present invention. In one alternative embodiment, the voting
selection information extracted from the barcodes on the printed
ballot at block 412 of FIG. 8 is transmitted over USB cable 132b to
the voting device 12 for tabulation. As such, the printed ballots
deposited in ballot bin 128 need not be scanned a second time by
voting device 12.
[0100] In another alternative embodiment, the printed ballot is
provided to the voter (rather than deposited in ballot bin 128),
whereby the voter inserts the ballot into the ballot insertion tray
of voting device 12 for scanning and tabulation. In another
alternative embodiment, the ballot bin 128 includes a display
window that allows the voter to view at least a portion of the
printed ballot.
[0101] In yet another alternative embodiment, the barcode reader(s)
could be replaced with an optical character recognition (OCR)
scanner capable of extracting information from the human-readable
information printed on the ballot (in which case the printed ballot
need not include the barcodes). Of course, a wide variety of other
ballot formats and configurations are within the scope of the
present invention, including a printed ballot that has the
appearance of a traditional paper ballot.
[0102] It should be noted that all of the screens described above
(as shown in FIGS. 6A-6G, 9A-9M and 10A-10D) display the same
header information, including general information on the election
(e.g., "2008 General Election; Oklahoma County, Okla.; Nov. 4,
2008"), a precinct identifier (e.g., "Precinct: Central High
School"), a protected count consisting of a total number of ballots
cast on that voting device over the entire life of the device
(e.g., "Protected Count: 3"), and a public count consisting of a
running total of the number of ballots cast on that voting device
during a particular election (e.g., "Public Count: 3").
[0103] Furthermore, all of the screens have an "Admin" button
(described above) and a "Help" button located in the upper-right
corner of the screen. Upon the selection of the "Help" button, a
pop-up window is displayed which is designed to provide more
detailed information regarding the particular operation of the
voting device 12. For example, a pop-up window that may be
displayed during poll opening would list the steps required to open
the poll for voting.
[0104] All of the screens also include four system indicator icons
displayed directly below the "Admin" and "Help" buttons. These
icons are non-selectable and are used primarily by poll workers and
other non-voter users. The system indicator icons comprise, from
left to right, an "accessible voting station status" headphones
icon (described above), an "election definition found" icon (which
will include a small red "X" if the election definition is not
found), an "additional ballot image storage found" icon (which will
include a small red "X" if additional ballot image storage is not
found), and a "running on AC power" icon. The "running on AC power"
icon will be replaced with a "battery" icon when the voting device
12 is running on battery power. This "battery" icon will preferably
be displayed in five states representing the available capacity of
the battery--100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0%. The "battery" icon may
flash when the battery capacity drops below a predetermined
level.
[0105] While the present invention has been described and
illustrated hereinabove with reference to an exemplary embodiment,
it should be understood that various modifications could be made to
this embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention.
In addition, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiment
embodies different inventive features. One inventive feature is the
provision of a voting system and method that accommodates both
paper ballots and electronic ballots, and another inventive feature
is the provision of a voting system and method that both
accommodates both paper ballots and audio ballots. One skilled in
the art will appreciate that either of these inventive features
could be implemented without the other (i.e., the invention is not
limited to the accommodation of all three types of ballots--paper
ballots, electronic ballots and audio ballots). Therefore, the
present invention is not to be limited to the specific
configuration or methodology of the exemplary embodiment, except
insofar as such limitations are included in the following
claims.
* * * * *