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Ballot Preparation & Voting Equipment May 17 th - June 10 th July 29 th – September 1 st
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Ballot Programming Calendar
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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
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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
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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 Email corrections or approval of proofs ASAP Kristin.Sepeta@hennepin.us Kristin.Sepeta@hennepin.us June 7 th – 9 th August 30 th – September 1 st
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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
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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
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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
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Voting Equipment Testing July 18 th – August 3 rd October 10 th – November 2 nd
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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.
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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)
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Absentee Central Counter: DS850 High Speed Central Count Scanner Counts 300 ballots per minute Hennepin County has 7 Central Count machines
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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
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Equipment Testing Process
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Preliminary Testing What is preliminary testing? Required by law: MR 8220.1350 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
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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
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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
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Test Deck Spreadsheet
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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
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Preliminary Testing Why we do it? Required by law: MR 8220.1350 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
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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
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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
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Maintenance Problems Call ES&S Hardware support 877-377-8683 Press 4 Option 1 (hardware) hardware@essvote.com hardware@essvote.com If you have multiple problems, prepare a spreadsheet with serial numbers and equipment problems Year round
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Public Accuracy Test (PAT) What the public accuracy test? Required by law: MS 206.83 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
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Public Accuracy Test (PAT) Why do we do it? Required by law: MS 206.83 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
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