Ballot Preparation & Voting Equipment May 17 th - June 10 th July 29 th – September 1 st

Ballot Programming Calendar

Office Identification  What offices and questions are expected to be on the ballot  Due May 1st  Let Hennepin County know if any changes arise – specifically ballot questions May 1 st

Ordering Ballots June 3 rd and August 26 th  Ballot order forms due  June 3 and August 18  Suggested percent for election day and absentee ballots  Expected absentee ballot increase  Suggested test ballot is 50 per precinct  Fill in order in light blue areas  Ballots packaged in packs of 100

Ballot Proofing  Checklist provided  Proofing period  June 7-9 and August 30-September 1  Ballots must be approved in this time frame, plan ahead  Additional instructions provided with ballot proofs  corrections or approval of proofs ASAP  June 7 th – 9 th August 30 th – September 1 st

Candidate Rotation  Rotation algorithm required  Rotation drawn randomly by OSS Candidate filing system  If you prefer to draw rotation, must be sent by: June 3 or August 18 by 6pm Send to Kristin  Proof candidate rotation as part of your ballot proofing June 3 rd and August 18 th

Ballot Delivery  Ballot delivery  Prior to Absentee Voting opening  Sample ballots  County will provide blue sample ballots & PDFs  Cities publish sample ballot with local offices only at least 2 weeks prior to election in official newspaper, 4 days posted notice  Sample ballots also available on OSS poll finder website

Ballot Changes  Partisan Primary Ballot  Independence Party is no longer a major party  Partisan Primary ballot will not have Independence Party column  Upper/Lowercase font  Ballots will have mixed case type for candidate names, offices, and instructions

Voting Equipment Testing July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Precinct Ballot Counter: DS200  Ballot counter in each polling place  Wireless modems transmit results after polls are closed  Changes:  The ballot counter will no longer reject for “unreadable” marks.

ADA Ballot Marker: AutoMARK  ADA ballot marking device  Voter hears selections through headphones and marks with a touch screen  Selections are printed onto ballot, ballot is deposited into ballot counter  Reminder:  It may take a long time to boot up in the morning (10-15 minutes)

Absentee Central Counter: DS850  High Speed Central Count Scanner  Counts 300 ballots per minute  Hennepin County has 7 Central Count machines

Voting Equipment Testing  Material delivery dates  Primary: Week of July 5th  General: Week of Oct 3rd  Materials provided  DS200 memory sticks  AutoMARK memory cards  Seals  Test decks & spreadsheet  Instructions for supplementing July 5 th and October 3 rd

Equipment Testing Process

Hennepin County Testing  What is Ballot Testing?  Prior to being sent to the printer every ballot style is tested in the ballot counter.  Why do we do it?  To make sure that every ballot style is accepted by the ballot counter before thousands of ballots are printed.

Hennepin County Testing  What is AutoMARK/Memory Stick Testing?  Before sending out the memory sticks they are tested for correct precinct, office and candidate info  Before sending out the AutoMARK cards the audio is tested for pronunciation (as best we can) and print settings  Why do we do it?  To make sure everything is burned correctly before sending out the materials. Any re-burns of materials can delay city testing.

Preliminary Testing - City  Ballots: Verify targets on all ballot styles printed correctly and read reliably  Ballot counters: Verify equipment accurately records valid votes, prompts when detects an error  AutoMARK: Verify equipment accurately prints voters choices, will assist disabled voters July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Testing References  HC Guides  DS200 Guide  Supplemental instructions  Quick Guides *New  OSS Voting Equipment Testing Guide July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing - Diagnostic Test  What is Diagnostic testing?  Before/during preliminary testing, ensure all basic mechanical functions are working properly. DS200  Printer prints clearly  Monitor display works  Battery is charged  Locks and doors operate correctly  Set date and time  Ballots feed and return without issues AutoMark  Printer prints clearly, does not jam  Monitor works, touch screen is calibrated  Audio clear, volume & temp controls work  Battery is charged  Locks and doors operate  Set date and time July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing - Diagnostic Test  Why do we do it?  To make sure the ballot counters are functioning mechanically prior to election day  Any mechanical issues can be addressed by ES&S prior to the election. So test in advance! July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing  What is preliminary testing?  Required by law: MR  Testing of AutoMARK – Done by the city  Test the functioning of the AutoMARK  Accurately prints the voters choice  Prevents overvotes and cross party voting  Testing of DS200 – Done by the city  Accurately records votes  Rejects timing mark ballots  Alerts to overvotes, crossparty and blank ballots  Testing of DS850 – Done by the county  Test Decks (provided by county) July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing – Checklist  Mark AutoMARK ballots (listen to audio)  Print zeros tapes and compare to ballot order  Insert ballots into ballot counter  Vary in orientation  Override alerts for over- votes and blank ballots  Reject ballots with timing marks filled in  Print results tape, compare to spreadsheet  Troubleshoot any errors  Repeat using other memory stick  Clear test results on each device as you finish with it  Transmit test results to HC server  Secure equipment, record seal numbers on certificate of preliminary testing July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Pre-marked Test Decks  County will provide pre- marked test decks to cities  Test decks will be delivered before the testing period  Supplement with AutoMARK ballots, timing mark ballots  Corresponding test spreadsheet will be sent electronically Test 1

Test Deck Spreadsheet

Supplementing the test deck  Supplementing instructions will be sent with each test deck  Each test deck will need to be supplemented with:  Marking a ballots with the AutoMARK  Fully marked ballot (using the AutoMARK)  Ballot with the timing marks filled in  We suggest replacing one ballot with a ballot marked by hand

Preliminary Testing  Why we do it?  Required by law: MR  Verify DS200s and AutoMARKs are operating correctly  Ballot errors have been found in past years  2015 AutoMARK printing error was caught during preliminary testing July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing – Details If test results don’t match test plan:  Put ballots in order  Determine which race has the error  Compare race on spreadsheet and ballots to determine which ballot was marked incorrectly  If necessary, mark new ballot  Retest July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Preliminary Testing - Details Chain of Custody  When not being tested, equipment and materials should be locked up  Third parties should never have access to election equipment  When preliminary test is complete, seal USB stick and memory card into machines (DS200 and AutoMARK)  Secure backup USB stick and memory card, test deck and spreadsheet until Public Accuracy Test  Save all materials for 22 months after election July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd

Maintenance Problems  Call ES&S Hardware support   Press 4 Option 1 (hardware)   If you have multiple problems, prepare a spreadsheet with serial numbers and equipment problems Year round

Public Accuracy Test (PAT)  What the public accuracy test?  Required by law: MS  Similar to Preliminary Test  Precincts are selected by election office  Test at least 3 precincts  Test 1 precinct from each congressional, legislative, commissioner district, ward and school district that appear on a ballot  Conduct PAT no more than 14 days before election  Give at least 2 days published and posted notice  At least 2 election judges from different parties must be present  Public may attend July 26 th – August 8 th October 25 th – November 7 th

Public Accuracy Test (PAT)  Why do we do it?  Required by law: MS  Opportunity for public to view accurate test  Gives public, advocacy groups and election judges confidence in the voting equipment and the voting equipment testing process July 26 th – August 8 th October 25 th – November 7 th