The Optech 400-C is a high capacity scanner used by election officials to count ballots in a central location. The Optech 400-C originally developed by Business Records Corporation and later by both Sequoia Voting Systems and Election Systems and Software. As the result of an antitrust settlement, ES&S ceased production of the Optech 400-C in 1997 but continues to service the equipment in many jurisdictions.
The Votomatic was the last punch card voting system used in American elections. They were last used in 2 counties in Idaho in the 2014 General Election. Punchcard systems employ a card (or cards) and a small clipboard-sized device for recording votes.
The Optech IIIP Eagle originally made by Business Records Corporation and later (as a result of merger and an antitrust decision, see below) by both Sequoia Voting Systems and by Election Systems and Software. (In jurisdictions with maintenance contracts with ES&S the equipment is often called the Optech 3P Eagle.) The Optech IIIP Eagle consists of two major parts, the ballot box (blue) and the head (white).
Originally developed by Unisyn Voting Solutions and now distributed by Election Systems and Software, the InkaVote and InkaVote Plus system consists of the InkaVote Precinct Ballot Counter (PBC) and Unisyn Election Management System (EMS). The PBC is based on a standalone lottery ticket machine design developed by the International Lottery & Totalizator Systems, Inc. (ILTS). The InkaVote ballot is a mark sense ballot based on the design of a Hollerith (IBM) punch card. Ballot identification data is pre-punched in the leading columns. The InkaVote system is used in Los Angeles County, CA and Jackson County, MO.
With the EVS 6.0.0.0 system certified by the EAC on July 2, 2018, ES&S introduced the ExpressVote XL, a hybrid paper-based polling place voting device that provides a full-face 32-inch interactive touchscreen and incorporates the printing of the voter’s selections on a vote summary card and tabulation scanning into a single unit. The ExpressVote XL is set up for each election using a proprietary USB drive that remains in the machine and collects the tabulated cast vote records. The compartment enclosing the USB drive, the memory module, two other ports and the administration switch is equipped with a barrel lock on the top front of the unit inside the privacy curtain with the voter.
The Verity Touch is a direct recording electronic voting device included in Hart Intercivic’s Verity 2.0 voting system. The Verity Access component (pictured below) adds tactile buttons, audio ballots and compatibility with common adaptive devices.
The Optech Insight and the Optech Insight Plus are optical scan machines, which are used to read and tabulate ballots at the polling place. According to the California Secretary of State’s 2007 Top-to-Bottom Review of voting systems, the major difference between the Insight and the Insight Plus is that the Insight Plus has an LCD screen for displaying messages to voters. On both models, there is also a small four-digit LED screen that shows how many ballots have been accepted since the polls opened.
The Sequoia AVC Edge is a touch screen direct-recording electronic voting machine. It is a multilingual voting system activated by a smart card and records votes on internal flash memory. Voters insert a “smart-card” into the machine and then make their choices by touching an area on a computer screen, much in the same way that modern ATMs work.The votes are then recorded to internal electronic flash memory. When polls close, the votes for a particular machine are written to a PCMCIA card which is removed from the system and either physically transported to election headquarters or their contents transmitted via computer network.
The AccuVote TS and TSX are touch screen direct recording electronic voting machines that records votes on internal flash memory. Voters insert a “smart-card” into the machine and then make their choices by touching an area on a computer screen, much in the same way that modern ATMs work. Both systems offer a summary page once the voter has sequenced through the entire ballot, giving the voter an opportunity to verify their choices and to vote in any race they missed. The votes are then recorded to internal electronic memory.
The Accuvote OSX is a precinct and central accumulation digital scan voting system. When using the Accuvote OSX as a precinct based digital scan unit, ballots are processed in the polling place, not transported to a central location. Only the voter touches the ballot between the time it is cast and the time it is counted. The Accuvote-OSX integrates the vote tabulation and recording process into one unit. The unit is powered with both an internal battery source and an external source.