County purchases ballot tabulator, Express Vote machine

Modern advancements are taking place at the Adams County Courthouse as the Adams County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the DS450 Central Scanner and Tabulator and Express Vote Universal Voting System created by Election Systems and Software (ES&S).

Adams County Auditor Heidi Hunt said they are looking forward to having the new machines and improving resident’s voting experiences to be as pleasant and simple as possible.

Despite the fact there are no issues with the current tabulator, Hunt said the DS450 has many added features and qualities, which are beneficial to the voters and the staff.

Four counties in the state use the DS850, but Adams County is the first to have the DS450, said Hunt.

Due to the fact the county has worked with ES&S since 1996, Hunt said they have always been satisfied with their products and they wanted to support the company’s technological improvements. ES&S creates machines that do not require Internet connection to function or scan ballots as an added security feature, said Hunt.

The security and accuracy of elections are of the utmost importance to the county, she stated. By being able to count and load ballots without connecting to the Internet, Hunt said the DS450 improves the security of elections by ensuring the results cannot be manipulated.

Internet is not involved in the process of uploading the election results until the staff sends them to the state, which also secures the results from being manipulated, said Hunt

On Thursday, Feb. 9, State Certification Manager Brooke Thernes and Lori Mommarts presented a demonstration at the Adams County Courthouse of the new machines with State Representative Stewart Holmes present through a video call.

Aside from security, Thernes said the improved “C” shape of the machine allows for all ballot sizes to be scanned at a quicker pace, opposed to the current tabulator’s straight across feed scanner.

Prior to becoming completely vote by mail, Hunt said the County purchased the current tabulator in 2005. The fact the mailed ballots are folded multiple times before arriving at the courthouse makes feeding them through the straight across feed scanner difficult, she explained.

ES&S created the DS450 with the vote by mail folded ballots in mind, and it allows the ballots to flow through in a continuous motion, said Thernes.

With Adams County having 19-inch ballots to accommodate for multiple languages, Hunt said the current machine would often jam and cause problems during counting.

Although the mailed ballots will still require back folding, Hunt stated the curve will improve the performance of the machine and also prevent it from jamming easily.

During the scanning demonstration of the machine, Thernes stated the DS450 has a throughput of 59 19-inch ballots per minute.

In order to ensure election results are accurate, the DS450 includes four output trays for each sorted ballot type and one tray at the bottom for scanned ballots containing write-ins, over votes or blanks. The current tabulator stops whenever it scans one of these types of ballots, causing the staff to remove the ballot and place it in a separate tray.

The improved features of the new machine are beneficial to the staff because there is no risk of ballots being misplaced by hand, said Hunt.

During the demonstration Thernes stated ES&S has also updated the DS450 to use USB storage devices for reporting election results rather than a zip disc. Hunt said the upgrade will make it easier for computers to read media.

Along with the DS450, the county also decided to upgrade from the Automark to the Express Vote Universal Voting System.

“The Express Vote will be wonderful because it is much lighter in weight and easier to use, so we will be able to take it to locations such as retirement homes, hospitals, senior centers etc to go to the voters who are unable to or having difficulties casting a ballot in the vote by mail environment,” stated Hunt

The system is also ADA compliant for voters with visual or physical impairments to be able to vote independently with the machine. The Automark is also ADA compliant, but is not as mobile as the Express Vote, she explained.

The overall purchase of the DS450 and Express Vote included a software package, along with trading in the old equipment, totaled $75,530.25.

ES&S agreed to allow Adams County to pay in three annual payments of around $28,000, said Hunt.

After the machines are approved by the state, Hunt said they hope to have them for the 2017 August Primary Election.

As the technology involved in election continues to improve, Hunt emphasized their main goal is to ensure a fair and convenient voting experience for Adams County residents.