Hart InterCivic’s Verity Duo is a ballot marking device that combines touchscreen voting with an integrated thermal printer and is typically used in jurisdictions fielding ballot marking devices (BMDs) for all voters. The Verity Duo must be connected to the Verity Controller and can be daisy-chained with up to twelve total Verity Duos, while the Verity Duo Standalone is a standalone BMD that does not require connection to a Verity Controller.

The Duo ballot marking device allows voters to mark choices on a touchscreen display. After voters are finished marking all their preferred choices, the device presents a “review page” that allows voters to double-check their choices on their ballot. (And if voters skip any contests, the screen indicates “No selection.”) After voters have had the opportunity to review all choices on the summary page, voters select “Print Ballot,” which causes the integrated thermal printer to generate a summary paper record of the voter’s choices. Verity Duo does not have scanning or tabulating capabilities; it is a marking device only. Accordingly, once Duo prints a paper record, the voter must insert it into a separate Verity Scan device to cast their vote.

Although Verity Duo prints “summary” paper records, which only show voter’s choices (like many other ballot marking devices), Verity Duo does not encode voter choices in QR codes and the system does not use QR codes to tabulate votes; instead, to tabulate voter choices, Verity Scan devices use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to interpret the same human-readable text that the voter can verify, directly from the page.

Verity Duo devices are typically set up in polling places in series, i.e. in a “daisy chain” (like Christmas lights), on a single long chain of connected cords. The chain of voting devices is, in turn, connected to a poll worker console called the Verity Controller. After voters check-in at the polling place, poll workers use the Controller to select the ballot style that each voter needs. Poll workers also issue each voter a randomly-generated, anonymous five-digit Access Code, which corresponds to each voter’s ballot style. To start a ballot marking session on an individual Duo device, inputs the Access Code, followed by a blank sheet of thermal paper, and the ballot is displayed.

Verity Duo can also be configured with additional accessible features for voters with disabilities. Duo supports accessible voting through an optional tethered/attached Audio-Tactile Interface (ATI), which is a “game controller” style console that includes a rotary wheel to move through the ballot, a select button to mark choices, and other tactile navigation buttons. The ATI can also support headphones for voters who are blind or visually impaired, or paddles or sip-and-puff devices for voters with dexterity impairments.

In 2021, Hart InterCivic partnered with Brother Mobile Solutions to create the Verity Duo Go, Verity Duo Go, an accessory for the Verity Duo and Verity Duo Standalone, which allows the device to be used for curbside and drive-through voting. Like the full-size Verity Duo, the Verity Duo Go includes a PocketJet 7 series mobile printer to create printed vote records (PVRs).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hart InterCivic Verity Duo Voting Instructions

Hart InterCivic Verity Duo Voting Instructions

Hart InterCivic Verity Duo usage in November 2022 (click for details)

References

Verity Voting 1.0 Test Report for the State of Colorado (2015)
Report of the Secretary of State of Washington on the Examination of the Verity 1.0 Voting System (2015)
EAC Certification Test Report for Verity 1.0 (2015)
EAC Certification Test Report for Verity 2.0 (2016)
EAC Certification Test Report for Verity 2.2 (2016)
Texas Voting System Examination of Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.5 (2021)