Reports

PRECINCT LEVEL OPTICAL SCAN VS. DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC MACHINES WITH VOTER VERIFIED PAPER TRAIL (DRE-VVPAT)

How do the two types of machine differ?

For optical scan (OS), the voter blackens in circles on the ballot next to the candidate or issue answer of choice. The ballot is then fed into a scanner (one per precinct) which tabulates the results, and returns the voter’s ballot if there is an “overvote” (voter fills in too many candidate names for a given office) so the voter can make corrections. Most of the voter’s time is spent at a table and chair with baffles for privacy, filling out the form, and the use of the scanner just takes a few seconds. The scanner tabulates the votes and places them in a box for transportation to the central voting station.

For Electronic machines (DRE’s with VVPAT), the touch screen information guides the voter through the possible choices, and after each choice, prints the choice on a roll of paper visible under a transparent window (as required by Ohio law), so that the voter can verify that the paper vote is the same as his machine vote, and so the paper can be used for recount. The computer tabulates the votes and the voter-verified rolls of paper from each machine are transported to the central counting station.

What are the advantages of the precinct-level optical scan over the direct-recording electronic machine with paper trail (DRE-VVPAT, hereafter abbreviated “DRE”)?

• Shorter lines on crowded voting days. Voters filling out OS sheets need only inexpensive table, chair and privacy baffles whereas only a limited number of DRE-VVPAT machines would be available because of their expense. This could become a bottleneck because voters must sit with the machines during the whole process of picking candidates/issues and verifying their picks on the paper trail printed by the machine. With OS, it only takes the machine a few seconds to scan and record the ballot (or return it for correction).
  
  
• Faster, easier recount, if necessary. A highly inspected and secure high speed scanner in the central office can rapidly re-check votes, either routinely or if there is any question. Hand recounts are also relatively easy. The paper trail generated by DRE’s can be up to 3-4 feet long per ballot, and in a recount, finding and recording a vote down the list could be awkward and immensely time-consuming. On the other hand, the OH Sec. of State’s office may require that the DRE produce an Optically Scannable paper trail, in order to make recounts more feasible.
  
  
• Absentee OS ballots are easier to fill out, less subject to error, and identical to polling place ballots. In 2000 and 2004 Presidential race, the error rate for punch card absentee ballots (4%) in Cuyahoga County was twice as high as that of regular ballots cast at the precincts (2%). In 2004, about 3,500 absentee votes for President were discarded because of error. An optical scan ballot is far simpler to complete than the punch card absentee ballot. If OS ballots are used for absentees and DRE’s at the polling place, then we have two classes of ballots to count (but see above).
  
  
• Fewer votes lost due to omissions. “Over-voting” in any race is prevented automatically by DRE’s. With precinct-level optical scan, the machine warns voters of “over-votes” and allows correction. Neither type of machine prevents omitting a vote (although the DRE may warn the voter). Yet in the 2004 Presidential race, the percentage of such omitted votes (“undervotes”) was less in Lucas county, which used precinct level OS, than in any of the counties, especially the big ones, using DRE’s (Part of this difference may be spurious, due to differences in absentee or overseas voters). If Cuyahoga County had used DRE’s with the same performance as DRE’s in Franklin County, it would have “lost” 4200 more Presidential votes than if it had used precinct-level OS.
  
  
• Much less expensive initial cost. Although each OS machine costs more than a DRE, about 6,000 DRE’s will be needed in Cuyahoga County vs. about 1,500 OS, because only one is needed per precinct. The 7.8 million dollar difference between the County purchasing OS and DRE (Plain Dealer, Feb. 9, 2004), if invested at 4% interest, would yield $312,000 per year, which would cover some of the extra operating costs of OS machines.
  
  
• OS Machines are fully certified in Ohio and ready to purchase: DRE’s with paper trail have yet to go through the process, which could easily take 18 months or more. This process includes: setting state standards (happening now), meeting federal standards, adapting prototypes to these standards, testing to meet the state standards (Diebold’s standard DRE with no paper trail failed to meet state testing standards last year), and manufacturing the final machine.
  
  
• OS marking machines suitable for people with disabilities are much closer to certification than DRE’s with paper trails, and produce a standard OS ballot. Both types of machines can guide voters with visual or hearing impairments, but the ES&S “Automark” OS-marking machine is currently undergoing certification at the federal level and could be ready for state certification shortly, whereas the DRE with VVPAT would be greatly delayed (see above).Also, the OS-marking machine produces a standard OS ballot which can be counted and recounted like that of all other voters, whereas the DRE-VVPAT produces an electronic tabulation and a paper trail that might be different from a standard optical scan ballot.
  
  
• OS machines have been used for many years: there is no experience with Diebold or ES&S DRE’s upgraded with VVPAT. Therefore, unforeseen glitches are expected with the upgraded DRE’s, which could affect function, voter satisfaction, and election outcomes. The former Director of the Lucas Board of Elections (who left after the November 2004 election) , and Board Director of Allen county, both of whom led the use of precinct-level OS machines, were pleased with their performance. Nationally, optical scanning, whether precinct-level or central, was used by 32% of voters in November, including in large counties.
  
  

What could be advantages of the DRE-VVPAT over precinct level optical scan?

• Ballot paper used for the “paper trail” MAY BE less expensive than OS ballot paper which must be heavier weight and printed more carefully.We don’t have comparative costs for the DRE paper trail costs, but recounts are likely to be awkward and more expensive than for OS. On the other hand, if the Secretary of State requires that DRE-VVPAT produce an optical scan ballot (a possibility, according Carlo LoParo, spokesperson for Sec. of State Blackwell), then the cost differential may well vanish. One also needs to include cost of printing of punch card and cost and printing of punch card ballot books in the many rotated versions used in a large county like Cuyahoga. Unfortunately, we have not been able to obtain cost numbers for these comparisons from either the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections or from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
  
  
• Maintenance costs after the 5 year warranty are said to be considerably higher for OS (Plain Dealer, Feb. 9, 2005). This may need to be balanced against inspection/testing costs of 4 times as many DRE’s, if the federal Election Assistance Commission best practices become requirements. Also, Fresno County, California, which uses PC-OS, did not confirm that maintenance costs were higher for them after 5 years.