Snohomish County Elections has purchased a new ballot design
and vote counting system, called ClearVote. Voters will continue to receive a
paper ballot in the mail to vote and return. County elections administrators
will have a modern system to efficiently and securely count ballots and report
results. Implementation of the new voting system begins with the April 24
Special Election.
The process for voters will remain mostly the same.
The most significant difference is how a voter will mark their ballot.
Rather than connect the tail and the head of an arrow, voters will mark ballot
choices by filling in an oval, a familiar method in surveys and standardized
tests. Additionally, the new system provides enhanced color and layout options
to help voters navigate ballot instructions and voting choices.
“The ClearVote system will provide our voters with an
intuitive, easy to mark paper ballot. The system is secure and
transparent and has efficient tools to accurately count ballots and report
election results. Clear Ballot has designed a certified system that is
cutting edge today and will stay current with changing technology into the
future.” said County Elections Manager Garth Fell.
ClearVote, a product of the Clear Ballot Group, is a
certified voting system by the Washington Secretary of State and passed
stringent testing by a federally-accredited lab. ClearVote operates
in an isolated, secure environment and is not connected to the internet.
Programming that occurs in the system each election is performed by county
staff. The system does not contain any voter names or other information,
helping to ensure a private ballot for each voter.
ClearVote includes accessible voting devices that will be
deployed in the Auditor’s Office and another remote site each election.
The accessible voting devices allow users to mark their ballot independently
using their own preferred assistive tools, such as a sip/puff or toggle pad
accessory. The device user screens are based on the Anywhere Ballot
developed by the Center for Civic Design. After a user marks a ballot on
screen, the system produces a paper ballot with their choices. The voter may
then review and submit their ballot for counting through the same secure
process as mail ballots.
The outgoing vote counting system had been in use at
Snohomish County since 2002. While still a secure, state-certified system,
making repairs and improvements had become more difficult.
Snohomish County joins King, Pierce and Whatcom counties
using the ClearVote system. The ClearVote system utilizes modern technology,
has state-of-the-art security, and was one seventh the cost of the previous
system.
The elections process continues to be easy, secure, and open
to public observation. Learn more about these changes or how to observe
elections at www.snoco.org/elections.
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