HART ISSUES/REQUESTS

Write In Reconciliation Issues

Entering the write ins for an election with unlimited write ins is (at best) tedious. The need to constantly change tabs to add new names slows down the process. Better would be to allow for an “Add on the Fly”. Basically there needs to be the ability to add a new name without changing tabs.

There needs to be a way to track back to the original ballot. Many times write ins are not wholly within the block and a few letters are cut off at the end of the block. There should be an original location (Drive ID/File ID) added to the fields and it should be displayed with each write in box in case further research is necessary re voter intent.

Provisional Votes Added

As provisional ballots are accepted, their total votes cast need to be added. We do not add each ballot individually, which means that we need a way to just add to the vote totals for a race without adding the ballots read to the totals. Maybe just add a Provisional Accepted Votes section which allows for hand tabulated totals to be added directly to the grand totals. (Fields would be: # Ballots Accepted, # Votes added to each race). This is an issue when there are multiple races on the ballot.

Ballot Style Reporting

We are planning to set up the next election (March 1 Presidential Preference Primary) as a ballot style election. This would give us 6 ballot styles for Election Day processing (3 Congressional Districts x 2 Parties). We need to report turnout by polling place (precinct) as well as results.

The question then becomes if we predefine our Scanners for ballot style, can the Count processing still determine locale based on the vDrives read? Also, when we predefine the Scanners, can we show the name/number of the precinct on the tapes? We have 91 precincts (All of which will be, in effect, splits for the parties and 5 of which will be split for Congressional District) for the next election.

So… Scan reports should show:

Precinct #/Name

Equipment ID

Scanner Totals (Lifetime/Ballots Read)

Tallies:

  • Ballots read (total)
  • Ballots by Split/ Congressional District)
  • Candidates voted for (by Split/CD)
  • Overvotes (by Split/CD)
  • Undervotes (by Split/CD)

We want to avoid Precinct based ballots as we would need to have 192 different ballots for this next election.

Sorting Write Ins

Currently, Once a write-in has been assigned, it’s difficult to proof read the assignments. There should be a way to view all write in boxes (on the screen) sorted by how they were assigned. It would be beneficial to be able to select “Rejected”, for example, and just step through all of the rejected write-ins to be able to confirm that all were properly assigned.

Voter per Polling Place/Turnout

With Ballot style, we were required to input voter populations by ballot, each style was one precinct. In reality, Hart’s “Polling Places” are our precincts and we need to be able to show turnout at each level. In this past election, we had one ballot per Congressional District, which meant we would be required to input total voters per CD. We had 2 CDs with over 100,000 voters each and Count would not accept those figures. ALL voter populations should be entered by precinct split (as if we were printing precinct specific ballots) and turnouts calculated at each level (Polling Place, CD or Legislative District, County-wide).

RMA’s
Would like to know the timing on RMA’s. How long should it take to get equipment serviced? If something is sent back multiple times to be repaired, will the unit be replaced? RMA V023928 ECC to be returned from repair. SentScan S1500036003on Jan. 21, 2016.

Spare Parts
Sent a requested replacement/spare parts to repair the ballot boxes in house. Would like to get an update on the request and an expected ship date.

Shipping Issues
We have been experiencing issues with the shipping company being used for our shipments. The current shipper never calls and gives us advanced notice of the deliveries. The warehouse is not staffed all the time to take deliveries.

Election Builds
To date, past elections have failed to meet our requested specs for the elections on the machines. Two (2) out of the last Four (4) elections were not correct. The setup errors have created operational challenges during the elections and required us to modify our procedures.

Issues with AB closing the polls, ect…..

Ballots
During the March Primary, we experienced issues with DEM Ballots be scanned at one precinct. The SCAN rejected all DEM ballots during the entire Election Day. NO matter what stock we pull the DEM ballots from, the SCAN still rejected the ballot. All REP ballots scanned during the election.

Ballots for the March Primary arrived damaged during shipping because of the packing on the pallets. The ballots on the very top of the shipping pallet received all the damage during shipping. It appears that the shipping either stacked the pallets of tried to put place them in a space that could accommodate the shipment.

Warranty
Would like to get an update on the warranty of the equipment purchased last year. We are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the purchase.

How many years is covered under the manufactures warranty?
Can we get an extended warranty when the original warranty expires?

Firmware
Can the firmware be updated? The machines are running on the original firmware from the date of purchase. Will a firmware upgrade add newer features to the equipment?

Pricing
With the Presidential Election around the corner, can we get an updated price list for all the equipment?

New Machines – Scan/TW
Rentals
Spare Batteries
Spare Power Bricks
Build & Layout Software
Extended Warranties & Support

Power Save Mode
The Power Save Mode on the machines is not functioning on the equipment like promised.

Power Icons TW
The TW main screen does not provide any visible power icons for the election staff to check. Would it be possible to have the power icons on the main screen, so the poll workers do have to push the blue button the check the power icons?

Dead Battery Message
After the machine gets a dead battery, the machine requires us to reboot to make operational. Even with the dead battery still in the machine, can we remove the reboot process?

Screen Calibration
During L&A we have experienced the touch screens having major calibration issues. It is impossible to even use the touch screen to correct the issues. We must keep rebooting the machine until it corrects the issue itself.

Error Message
This issue occurred during the last election and it seems to be issue with the software programming on the machine.

Type in the wrong Code
Hit Cancel Button
Select Print Zero Report
Talley tape is printed (we have a video)

Power Plug Scan/TW
To date most of our battery issues on Election Day have been caused by the power supply connector on the brick/machine. The male/female plug is really hard to seed into the machine and the ballot box has a stopper that also interferes with the plug being connected. Both of these contributes to the SCAN not getting AC power to run and end up using battery power until the battery is dead. Please remember that most of the users are retired folks and it needs to easy.