Ottawa County to roll out new election equipment in August

Ottawa County to roll out new election equipment in August

Enhanced security and faster transmission of election results are among key new features

Ottawa County voters will find upgraded technology and a fresh look to their voting experience as they head to the polls this August.

The Ottawa County Clerk’s Office, together with the State of Michigan, has purchased all-new voting equipment from Hart InterCivic, a federally certified elections software vendor based in Austin, Texas. The purchase marks the County’s first major upgrade of voting technology in 13 years.

“Hart’s technology represents a state of the art system and one that our voters and election administrators will be able to rely on for a long time to come,” said Ottawa County Clerk/Register Justin Roebuck. “I’m grateful for the support of our local clerks and our County Board of Commissioners in making this decision.”

Ottawa County is one of only three counties in Michigan that own all of the election equipment used by each of its local jurisdictions. Ottawa also handles the equipment maintenance for its 111 precincts and is the second largest purchaser of election equipment in the state.

Hart’s Verity voting system was selected for purchase because it is secure, accurate and easy to use. Verity is the only system offered in Michigan that is federally certified for electronic transmission of election results and meets Michigan’s most stringent standards. Ballot programming and vote tabulation are never connected through the Internet and all devices are rigorously tested for accuracy prior to each election. 

Voters at the precincts will continue to mark a paper ballot that appears largely the same as previous paper ballots. They will then insert their ballot into a new touch screen scanner and wait for the image of an American flag to appear, signifying that the ballot has been accepted. Those needing physical assistance may utilize the Verity Touch Writer, a new, portable touch-screen ballot marking device that includes an audio ballot reader and accommodates adaptive devices such as a sip-and-puff. Absentee voters will continue to receive their ballot, and instructions for marking it, by mail.

After polls close on Election Night, results will be securely and automatically transmitted to the County Clerk’s Office from each ballot scanning device, decreasing the typical wait time for results. All paper ballots are retained by local jurisdictions within the county after each election.