Overview
The Hart Verity election system is a voting system with a dedicated ballot marking device (the Verity Touchwriter) that allows a voter with disabilities to privately and independently vote on a paper ballot. Audio and tactile interfaces allow voters with visual challenges to complete their ballot. Voters can listen to the selections over headphones, or view an LCD screen with an image of their ballot that can be adjusted for size and contrast. A "Sip-N-Puff," or paddle device, may also be used by voters with limited hand dexterity.
Any voter may use the Verity Touchwriter to vote, not just voters with a disability or in need of language assistance. Many individuals have disabilities that are not readily apparent and cannot be easily seen. Poll workers should not assume that a voter will or will not want to use the Verity Touchwriter, or ask a voter what their disability is, or otherwise decide that the voter should or should not use the Touchwriter. The decision to use the Touchwriter is up to the voter.
The Verity Scan system is a portable electronic voting system that uses an optical scanner to read marked paper ballots and tally the results. This system allows for paper ballots to be immediately tabulated at the polling site. The Verity Scan also notifies the voter of voting errors. The voter will be able to immediately correct these errors to ensure that their vote counts.
The Verity Reader is an independent tool that can be used by voters to verify that the system will tabulate the voter's ballot in accordance with the voter’s intent by inserting the completed ballot into the machine and then having the selected choices listed back to the voter, prior to inserting the ballot into a Verity Scan machine to actually cast the ballot.
Hart Verity Counties
- Herkimer
- Otsego
- Ulster
- Washington
- Yates