Avante International Technology, Inc. VOTE-TRAKKER™ Election Official Manual Part B Sections 4 - 5 Version 4.4.3 Date: June 7, 2002 © 2001-2002 Avante International Technology, Inc.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1.1 ABOUT THIS MANUAL ......................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1.1.1 Basic Operational Functions ................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.1.2 Voter Operating Functions and Modes.................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2 SAFETY INFORMATION....................
Avante International Technology, Inc. 3.3.13 RANKING VOTING................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 3.3.14 PRIMARY ELECTIONS.......................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 4. ELECTION OFFICIAL OPERATING PROCEDURES.............................................. 1 4.1 HOW TO PREPARE A VOTE-TRAKKER™ FOR AN ELECTION .................................................. 1 4.1.1 Load Ballot..................................................................................................
Avante International Technology, Inc. 6.2.2 Manufacturer’s Recommended Security Procedures.......Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.2.3 Machine Setting & Testing Functions...................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.3 CALIBRATION OF TOUCH SCREEN ........................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 7. PRINTER INFORMATION............................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION............................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 2. CONSTRUCTION.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 9. INSTALLING THE PAPER ROLL ............... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 10. MAINTENANCE............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4. Election Official Operating Procedures 4.1 How to prepare a VOTE-TRAKKER™ for an election VOTE-TRAKKER™ is designed to be working alone and independent of any computer network or communication network. The first step to prepare a VOTE-TRAKKER™ for an election is to load the ballot onto the voting unit. 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Plug the VOTE-TRAKKER™ into the power outlet via UPS. Press the Power On/Off switch button at the rear bottom of the VOTE-TRAKKER™ to turn on the system. This will turn on the computer and other hardware components. Once the computer is turned on, press the CD-RW door open-button, place the ballot CD into the CD-RW drive and close the door.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Check around the perimeter of this window to make sure the touch screen is working. If the touch screen is functioning properly, then press the “No” button to move to the next screen. If the touch screen is off calibration (meaning the pointer is not exactly where your finger touch is), then use your finger to adjust the position to get the arrow to point to the “Yes” button. When the arrow is over the “Yes” button, press the screen to activate the calibration program.
Avante International Technology, Inc. The next screen, Figure 4.1.1E asks for the Polling Official username and password for loading ballot. Use exactly the same username and password as in the Manage Ballot Data Module. Both the username and the password are case-sensitive. After you enter the Polling Official, press on the “Password” space to enter the correct password. The default Polling Official is Super01 and the Password is Vote01. Press “OK” to continue. Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. You can press the “About” button to see the version number of the “Load Ballot Data” software Figure 4.1.1G. Figure 4.1.1G After the correct username and password are entered, Figure 4.1.1E the computer will verify that the VOTE-TRAKKER™’s serial number is included in the ballot CD. If the computer cannot find a matching number in the CD, the following screen, Figure 4.1.1H will appear to notify the election official: Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. If a matching number in the CD is found, then the screen in Figure 4.1.1I appears. Figure 4.1.1I Press on the “Yes” button to continue. The above screen is a reminder to back up the old database. The actual back up procedure should have been done at the Ballot Generation Computer by writing the old database into a ballot CD. If you choose “No” the system will return to the voting module login screen Figure 4.1.1D and load the last ballot used. Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. The next screen allows you to set up the Database name, Login user name and Password for the new database, Figure 4.1.1 K. If you do not supply a password a warning screen appears but it will allow you to continue without a password. This is not recommended. Always keep a record of the database name, login user name and password for future reference and audit purpose. Press “OK” to continue.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.1.2 Prepare hardware components After the ballot has been loaded the computer will automatically start to run the voting program based on the new database. Before entering the passwords in Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.1.2B Press “Yes” to continue shut down. When you see the message “It is now safe to turn off the computer” on the screen, press the VOTE-TRAKKER™’s power on/off switch located at the rear of the machine to shut down. VOTE-TRAKKER™ is now ready for the election. Press “No” to return to Figure 4.1.3A. 4.1.3 Test the VOTE-TRAKKER™ Press the power on/off button to start VOTE-TRAKKER™ . Wait until you see the “Calibrate Touch-Screen?” screen again.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Enter the required number of polling officials’ names and passwords. The system default settings require two sets of polling officials’ names and passwords: Enter 11 in the polling official’s field and leave the password field blank, press “OK”. Enter 22 in the polling official’s field, and leave the password field blank, press “OK”. (The local jurisdiction election office should change this in the Generate Ballot Data Module.) Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Once the required usernames and passwords are accepted, the following screen appears: Figure 4.1.3D Insert the Smart Card Reader test card. This card tests the functionality of the smart card reader. If the reader is performing properly, it will accept the card, read it, push it back out and Figure 4.1.3E appears. Figure 4.1.3E or Figure 4.1.3F Press “OK” if Passed. If you see Figure 4.1.3F, the card reader failed Try again with another card.
Avante International Technology, Inc. If everything is functioning, the Figure 4.1.3I message will appear, otherwise the Figure 4.1.3J message will appear. Again report any problems to the supervisor for repair. A sensor error will not stop the voting process. Press “OK” to continue. Figure 4.1.3I Figure 4.1.3J. The final test is for the counters. The counters are increased by one increment. Note the counts on both counters and press “OK”, Figure 4.1.3K.
Avante International Technology, Inc. If the two counters are functioning properly, the VOTE-TRAKKER™ performs other internal tests for all other critical components. The test will include the hard drive, floppy disk, flash memory cards (if selected), CD-R disc (if selected) and printer. If any of the critical components are missing or nonfunctional, a screen similar to Figure 4.1.3M will appear to notify the election official as to what component/s have been found to be non-functional. Figure 4.1.
Avante International Technology, Inc. When the VOTE-TRAKKER™ confirms that all the critical components are functional, it will print out a report detailing all the tests performed (see Figure 4.1.3O). Election Type: Test Time: Vote-Trakker: Software Version Hardware Version General Election 2002-3-25 15:01:41 VTP000010001007 4.3 1.3.
Avante International Technology, Inc. After printing out the report. Figure 4.1.3P will appear. Press the “Machine Setting & Testing” button. Press Figure 4.1.3P Press the “Date & Time” on the next screen, Figure 4.1.3Q. Press Figure 4.1.3Q Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Check that the system’s date and time are correct. If not, adjust the date and time, Figure 4.1.3R. Adjust “Month” and “Year” from the drop-down list. Adjust “Date” by touching the correct date (25th). Highlight the “hour” and use the up or down arrow to adjust. Do the same to adjust “Minute”. Figure 4.1.3 R Press “OK” when the date and time are correct. Press “Quit” to return to Figure 4.1.3Q.
Avante International Technology, Inc. The screen, Figure 4.1.3 P will return. Press the “Begin Voting” button. Press Figure 4.1.3P The following screen Figure 4.1.3S will appear. Figure 4.1.3 S This screen means that the current database has not been activated for voting. The polling official on Election Day should activate this. The voting machine is now ready to ship to its polling location. Press the “OK” button to return to screen 4.1.3P. Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Press the “Quit” button. Press Figure 4.1.3P The system will ask you to confirm your “Quit” command, Figure 4.1.3Q. Choose “Yes” to confirm. Press on the “No” button to return to Figure 4.1.3P. Figure 4.1.3Q Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. When you press “Yes” the machine will automatically begin to shut down. When the message “It is now safe to turn off your computer” shows up on the screen, press the VOTE-TRAKKER™’s power ON/Off button at the rear of the machine to shut down the whole system. Put the top cover back to the voting machine and close all the three latches so that the top cover is locked to the bottom cover. Seal the machine with tags on left and right hand side of the VOTETRAKKER™.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.2 Open Poll on Election Day Make sure the VOTE-TRAKKER™ is connected to a UPS backup system and plugged into a working electrical outlet before turning on the voting machine. Press the Power On/Off switch button at the rear bottom of the VOTE-TRAKKER™ to turn on the system. This will turn on the computer and other hardware components. Wait until the system boots up and you see the following screen, Figure 4.2A. Figure 4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Enter the required number of polling officials’ names and passwords. The system default settings require two sets of polling officials’ names and passwords: Enter 11 in the polling official’s field and leave the password field blank, press “OK”. Enter 22 in the polling official’s field, and leave the password field blank, press “OK”. (The local jurisdiction election office should change this in the Generate Ballot Data Module.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Once the required usernames and passwords are accepted, the following screen, Figure 4.2E appears. Figure 4.2E Insert the Smart Card Reader test card. This card tests the functionality of the smart card reader. If the reader is performing properly, it will accept the card, read it, push it back out and Figure 4.2F appears. Figure 4.2F Figure 4.2G Press “OK” if Passed. If you see Figure 4.2G the card reader failed Try again with another card.
Avante International Technology, Inc. The final test is for the counters. The counters are increased by one increment. Note the counts on both counters and press “OK”, Figure 4.2J. A visual check is made to see if both moved up one count. Record the initial reading of every counter before conducting counter testing. Figure 4.2J Figure 4.2K Enter “Yes” or “No” depending on the counter function test Figure 4.2K.
Avante International Technology, Inc. When the VOTE-TRAKKER™ confirms that all the critical components are functional, it will print out a report detailing all the tests performed (see Figure 4.2M). Election Type: Test Time: Vote-Trakker: Software Version Hardware Version General Election 2002-3-25 15:01:41 VTP000010001007 4.3 1.3.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Once the diagnostic test is completed, Figure 4.2N will appear. VOTE-TRAKKER™ is now ready to be activated for voting as described in Section 4.2.1. Figure 4.2N 4.2.1 Activate the VOTE-TRAKKER™ Before voting can begin, the machine must be opened for polling. The “Opening” procedure is required only once after a new ballot is loaded on to the voting unit. To open the machine for voting, select the “Machine Setting & Testing” button from Figure 4.2N. Press Figure 4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. This brings Figure 4.2.1A. To activate the machine, select the “Set Voting Machine” button. Press Figure 4.2.1A The computer will automatically find the ward, Figure 4.2.1B, where this VOTE-TRAKKER™ is supposed to be stationed. If the Ward designation is wrong the machine has been shipped to the wrong location. Contact an Election Official immediately. Press the “Open” button, Figure 4.2.
Avante International Technology, Inc. You will be reminded to reset the counter and record the current readings before continuing, Figure 4.2.1C. The counter is reset to “0” by using the key provided. Press “Yes” to continue. The system will print out zero tally reports. If you press “No” it returns to Figure 4.2.1B. Figure 4.2.1C Press “Quit” in Figure 4.2.1D to set the machine. Press Figure 4.2.1D This brings you back to the Figure 4.2.1A screen. Press “Quit” to go back to Figure 4.2.1E.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Press the “Begin Voting” button. Press Figure 4.2.1E The “Welcome to VOTE-TRAKKER™” screen Figure 4.2.1F will appear, meaning that the machine is ready for voting. Once a machine is ready for voting, both of the two counters will increase their readings only by ballot cast.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.2.2 Ballot and Logic Test Polling officials can use a Test Voting Card to verify the ballot content is correct. For information on how to generate Test Voting Card, refer to the Generate VID Module in the Election Administrator’s Manual. If the election is General Election, a Test Voting Card issued for a specific ward will bring up the ballot for that ward.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.2.2C After pressing the “OK” button, the polling official can vote as a normal voter. Report immediately if any inaccuracies are found in the ballot. Upon casting vote, the test voting result will be stored in a Test Voting Tally, which will not influence the tally for other voting result. The VOTE-TRAKKER™ will return the Test Voting Card to the polling official and the card can be used as long as the corresponding database is active in the VOTE-TRAKKER™.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.2.3 Tally Accuracy Test (Optional) To verify that the voting machine tabulates the vote cast correctly, you can get a tally of all the test votes you cast in the last section. To get the tally, enter the correct screen touch-code as explained in Figure 4.2.3A (For information on how to set screen touch-code, refer the Ballot Generation ModuleÎ Database Settings) The screen is divided into nine areas.
Avante International Technology, Inc. After the correct usernames and passwords are entered, the administrative screen, Figure 4.2.3C will appear. Press Figure 4.2.3C Press on the “Generate Tabulation” button. The VOTE-TRAKKER™’s printer will print out the paper tally for test-voting only if the voting session has not been closed. Verify that the testvoting tally conform to the totals of all the test votes cast by polling officials prior to the tabulation.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.3 Choice of instruction language There are some states that require multiple instruction languages for voting. In some cases, they may even require the translation of the candidate names for citizens that may have English language problems. Typical foreign languages include Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc. VOTETRAKKER™ is equipped for various election languages.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.4 How to handle a “fleeing voter” A “Fleeing voter” is defined as voters that leave the voting booth without casting their ballot. VOTE-TRAKKER™ is programmed to “lock-up” the screen after a fixed amount of time after the voter is absent. This lock-up occurs when the sensor cannot detect the voter’s presence after a fixed amount of time passed while the voter has not taken additional voting actions. The time is preset in the Generate Ballot Data module.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.5 How to activate the ADA function for visually impaired voters ADA Voice-Assisted Voting using VOTE-TRAKKER™ may be activated with the help of the poll worker by pressing the“F9” key on the special ADA voting keyboard. Warning: Do not use a normal computer keyboard to conduct ADA voting. Doing so may interrupt the normal process of the voice-assisted voting program. The program is designed to allow voters that are visually impaired to be able to vote in private.
Avante International Technology, Inc. upper right hand corner of the keyboard unit. Please press on it now.” The VOTE-TRAKKER™ will wait till a key is entered. If the key is incorrect, the VOTE-TRAKKER™ will say “Please try again.” If it is correct, the script continues“You have found the minus key. This minus key is used to ask the machine to repeat reading the current contest from the beginning. The third key is the control key, located at the lower left-hand corner of the keyboard.
Avante International Technology, Inc. A voice gender is selected... Next, you can adjust computer voice. You can You have chosen system's default setting choose the voice of gender, do you like male's You have chosen voice? If you do, press the enter key or press the male voice. escape key to choose the system's default gender voice. No Entry - toggles between You can choose the voice of gender, do you like question female's voice? If you do, press the enter key.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Once all the voice settings are selected, the ballot begins to be read. “Welcome to “general election, 2000”. The same wording as that appears on the header of the specific election.
Avante International Technology, Inc. If the voter still does not make his/her selection after the second reading, the machine will automatically enter “No Vote (Abstain)” and read the following to the voter, “We have assumed you are abstaining in this contest and entered “No Vote” for you. You may change this vote when we review you selections after all of the contests.
Avante International Technology, Inc. The process repeats itself until all contests, proposals or propositions are done. The machine will read the selections made by the voter on the left hand screen back to the voter and inform him/her the following: “You have just completed your selections of all of the contests and questions for this election. The followings are your selections.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.6 Opening and Closing Times The opening and closing times can be preset in the ballot generation stage of setting up the voting machines. The date and times that are entered are used for reminder purposes. Opening times and closing times are completely independent functions so one can be used without the other. Opening Time: This time is set for the earliest that the machine can be opened.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.7 Close Voting When it is the time to close voting, the polling official should press the following screen with the screen touch-code. (For information on how to set screen touch-code, refer the Ballot Generation ModuleÎ Database Settings) The screen is divided into nine areas. The screen touch-code is a combination of 6 touches of any of these nine areas.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Press Figure 4.7C Press the “Close Voting” button. The following screen, Figure 4.7D will ask you to make sure that you want to close voting. A Vote-Trakker will not accept any further voting after it is closed until a new ballot is loaded. Figure 4.7D Press the “Yes” button to continue. Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.7E You need to press “Yes” in Figure 4.7E to confirm your intention to close voting. Pressing “No” will return you to Figure 4.7C. If a designated closing time is established during the ballot generation process and the VoteTrakker™ is closed before this time, a message as shown in Figure 4.7F appears. Figure 4.7F Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. After the “Yes” button is pressed, the computer will begin to print out the paper tally for normal (registered voters) voting. Pressing “No” will return you to Figure 4.7C. The system will automatically begin copying the raw data onto the CDR. When finished copying Figure 4.7H appears. Figure 4.7H Press the “OK” button to continue. Figure 4.7I will appear to guide you through the CDR organization process. Figure 4.7I Press “Next”. Figure 4.7 J will appear.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.7J Press “Next”. and you will see Figure 4.7K. Choose to organize the disc and then press the “Finish” button. Do not select the first choice “To leave the disc as it is…” Make sure this box is checked. Figure 4.7K Press “Finish”. The organizer time bar will appear, Figure 4.7L. When it is done Figure 4.7M will appear. Figure 4.7L Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.7M Press “OK”. The printer will begin printing the tally for provisional voting. Once the paper provisional tally is received, you can break the seal for the flap on the top right of the lid that allows access to the floppy disk. Remove the floppy disk that contains tally information and should be treated securely by an election judge. You can remove the CDR and close the CD drive. Press Figure 4.7C Press the “Quit” key on Figure 4.7C. Version 4.4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Figure 4.7J Press “Yes” if you want to quit. “No” returns you to Figure 4.7C. When you press “Yes” the machine will automatically begin to shut down. The message “It is now safe to turn off your computer” will appear. Turn off the machine by pressing the button on the rear off the machine and pack the machine and ship it back to the county office if necessary. The close voting process is completed.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 4.8 Count Provisional Ballots After a provisional voter’s eligibility has been verified, the voter’s provisional vote is counted. A local jurisdiction election office uses one or more VOTE-TRAKKERS to tally all the verified provisional votes. To tally provisional votes, press on the “Verified Provisional Cards” (Figure 4.8A). Press Figure 4.8A Figure 4.8A This brings up the next screen (Figure 4.8B). Figure 4.
Avante International Technology, Inc. Once a provisional ballot card is inserted into the card reader, the following screen, Figure 4.8C appears: Figure 4.8C Press “Yes” to count the vote. The computer will transfer the voting result from the smart card to the election result database. Once this process is completed, the voting result on the smart card will be erased. The next screen, Figure 4.8D will appear: Figure 4.8D Press the “OK” button. The smart card will be ejected from the card reader.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 5. Operation Support Avante International Technology, Inc. provides full service support for all VOTETRAKKER™ systems with several levels of supports. • Full service support: For a defined fee, Avante will provide on-site support before and during an election for each county. This may include the assistance in ballot generation, transporting and installing of machines for the election, and election tabulation and assistance.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 3. A computer error has occurred – This is rare and likely a more serious problem. There is a program imbedded in the Vote-Trakker™ that anticipates system errors. See below for an example screen (Figure 5.3A). Figure 5.3A 5.3.1 Missing/Not Available Errors These types of errors occur when a component is missing. A physical component that could be missing is the floppy disk, CD-RW disc, flash memory cartridge, or paper for the printer.
Avante International Technology, Inc. 5.3.3 Computer Errors In the event that a computer error occurs that is not correctable, the Vote-Trakker™ should be quarantined and examined by an experienced service technician. If the error type is one that has not been anticipated by Avante, a screen will appear (see Figure 5.3.3A). If a keyboard is available, the scenario that caused the error can be typed into the text box. Also, one could write down on paper what steps were performed prior to the error occurring.
