The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) described paper ballots on its website (accessed Feb. 22, 2006)
:
"A paper ballot system employs uniform official ballots of various stock weight on which the names of all candidates and issues are printed. Voters record their choices, in private, by marking the boxes next to the candidate or issue choice they select and drop the voted ballot in a sealed ballot box."
Stephen Ansolabehere, Associate Head of the Department of Political Science at MIT, described paper ballots in The Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project article "Residual Votes Attributable to Technology: An Assessment of the Reliability of Existing Voting Equipment" (Version 2; Mar., 2001):
"The oldest technology is the paper ballot. To cast a vote, a person makes a mark next to the name of the preferred candidates or referendum options and, then, puts the ballot in a box. Paper ballots are counted manually."
The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) described mechanical lever machines on its website (accessed Feb. 22, 2006)
:
"On mechanical lever voting machines, the name of each candidate or ballot issue choice is assigned a particular lever in a rectangular array of levers on the front of the machine. A set of printed strips visible to the voters identifies the lever assignment for each candidate and issue choice. The levers are horizontal in their unvoted positions. The voter enables the machine with a lever that also closes a privacy curtain. The voter pulls down selected levers to indicate choices. When the voter exits the booth by opening the privacy curtain with the handle, the voted levers are automatically returned to their original horizontal position."
Congressional Research Service's 2003 Report for Congress entitled "Election Reform and Electronic Voting Sytems (DREs): Analysis of Security Issues," included the following description of mechanical lever machines:
"With [mechanical lever machines], a voter enters the voting booth and sees a posted ballot with a small lever near the name of each candidate or other ballot choice. The voter chooses a candidate by moving the appropriate lever...After completing all choices, the voter pulls a large lever to cast the ballot, and the votes are recorded by advances in mechanical counters in the machine. The lever machine therefore eliminates the need to count ballots manually. Instead, pollworkers read the numbers recorded by the counters. Because there is no document ballot, recounts and audits are limited to review of totals recorded by each machine."
Stephen Ansolabehere, Associate Head of the Department of Political Science at MIT, described mechanical lever machines in The Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project article "Residual Votes Attributable to Technology: An Assessment of the Reliability of Existing Voting Equipment" (Version 2; Mar., 2001):
"The lever machine consists of a steel booth that the voter steps into. A card in the booth lists the names of the candidates, parties, or referenda options, and below each option is a switch. Voters flick the switch of their preferred options for each office or referendum. When they wish to make no further changes, they pull a large lever, which registers their votes on a counter located on the back of the machine. At the end of the voting day, the election precinct workers record the tallies from each of the machines. Lever machines automate both the casting of votes and the counting of votes through mechanical devices."
The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) described punchcard systems on its website (accessed Feb. 22, 2006)
:
"Punchcard systems employ a card (or cards) and a small clipboard-sized device for recording votes. Voters punch holes in the cards (with a supplied punch device) opposite their candidate or ballot issue choice. After voting, the voter may place the ballot in a ballot box, or the ballot may be fed into a computer vote tabulating device at the precinct. Two common types of punchcards are the 'Votomatic' card and the 'Datavote' card. With the Votomatic, the locations at which holes may be punched to indicate votes are each assigned numbers...The list of candidates or ballot issue choices and directions for punching the corresponding holes are printed in a separate booklet...With the Datavote card, the name of the candidate or description of the issue choice is printed on the ballot next to the location of the hole to be punched."
Congressional Research Service's 2003 Report for Congress entitled "Election Reform and Electronic Voting Sytems (DREs): Analysis of Security Issues," included the following description of mechanical lever machines:
"Another major technological advance in voting--the first use of computers to count votes--came with the introduction of the punchcard system. In [punchcard] voting systems, document ballots are fed into an electronic reader and the tallies stored in computer memory and media. Tallying can be done at either the precinct or a central location. Computer-assisted counting of document ballots can be done very rapidly, thus speeding the reporting of election results. It is much more efficient for counting large numbers of ballots than manual tallying."
Stephen Ansolabehere, Associate Head of the Department of Political Science at MIT, described paper ballots in The Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project article "Residual Votes Attributable to Technology: An Assessment of the Reliability of Existing Voting Equipment" (Version 2; Mar., 2001):
"Punch card machines automated the counting process using the computer technology of the 1960s. Upon entering the polling place the voter is given a paper ballot in the form of a long piece of heavy stock paper. The paper has columns of small, perforated rectangles (or chads). There are two variants of the punch card - one, the Data Vote, lists the names of the candidates on the card; the other (VotoMatic) does not...The voter uses a metal punch to punch out the rectangle beside the candidate of choice...When finished, the voter removes the card and puts it in a ballot box. At the end of the day, the election workers put the cards into a sorter that counts the number of perforations next to each candidate."
The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) described optical scan systems on its website (accessed Feb. 22, 2006)
:
"Marksense systems employ a ballot card on which candidates and issue choices are preprinted next to an empty rectangle, circle or oval, or by completing the arrow. After voting, the voters either place the ballot in a sealed box or feed it into a computer tabulating device at the precinct. The tabulating device reads the votes using 'dark mark logic,' whereby the computer selects the darkest mark within a given set as the correct choice or vote. Marksense technology has existed for decades and has been used extensively in such areas as standardized testing and statewide lotteries. Although marksense systems are often referred to as 'optical scan,' marksense technology is only one of several methods for recognizing marks on paper through optical reading techniques."
Congressional Research Service's 2003 Report for Congress entitled "Election Reform and Electronic Voting Sytems (DREs): Analysis of Security Issues," included the following description of mechanical lever machines:
"The optical-scan voting system also uses computers for vote-counting. In [optical scan] voting systems, document ballots are fed into an electronic reader and the tallies stored in computer memory and media. Tallying can be done at either the precinct or a central location. Computer-assisted counting of document ballots can be done very rapidly, thus speeding the reporting of election results. It is much more efficient for counting large numbers of ballots than manual tallying."
Stephen Ansolabehere, Associate Head of MIT's Department of Political Science, wrote in The Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project (Version 2) Mar., 2001 article "Residual Votes Attributable to Technology: An Assessment of the Reliability of Existing Voting Equipment":
"Optically scanned ballots, also known as 'marksense' or 'bubble' ballots, offer another method for automating the counting of paper ballots. The form of the optically scanned ballot is familiar to anyone who has taken a standardized test. The voter is given a paper ballot that lists the names of the candidates and the options for referenda, and next to each choice is a small circle or an arrow with a gap between the fletching and the point. The voter darkens in the bubble next to the preferred option for each office or referendum, or draws a straight line connecting the two parts of the arrow. The ballot is placed in a box, and, at the end of the day, counted using an optical scanner. Some versions of this technology allow the voter to scan the ballot at the polling place to make sure that he or she voted as intended."
