Demo Proves Mail-in Ballot Counter Works Fast

COURT HOUSE – Fast, secure, accurate, amazing all describe Cape May County Board of Elections new computerized mail-in ballot counter. A demonstration of Dominion Voting System’s device that will speed count mail-in ballots in the June 3 and future elections was given at the board’s 10 Mechanic St. office May 30.
As to speed, with the latest device, it is likely that mail-in tallies will be available before municipal districts report their results on election nights. That is a change, since in the past mail-in ballots, formerly known as absentee ballots, had to be processed in a slower way. The system used was a DOS, the new one is Windows 7.
County Clerk Rita Fulginiti and Registrar Michael Kennedy made a PowerPoint presentation ( available with that story here) to freeholders May 27.
Joe McIntyre, Dominion Voting Systems representative, was present at the May 30 session as were Kennedy, Democrat registrar, and Douglass Dunhour, Republican registrar. It’s important to understand that everything at the Board of Elections office, from opening the door in the morning, with two keys, to closing it at night — and everything in between — is overseen by a two, one from each party.
The off-line counter, computer and printer cannot be connected to the Internet for security reasons. The counter, which resembles a large printer, processes 100 ballots per minute. Regardless if they are wrinkled, marked correctly or incorrectly, both sides are simultaneously scanned with an image of each available on a touch-screen computer.
McIntyre brought a sample pack of several thousand ballots to perform what was known as a pre-election logic and accuracy test.
As are all 215 of the board’s voting machines, each is checked prior to every election to ensure it is properly functioning.
When all sample ballots were scanned, and recorded for the test, just as they will be on any election night, because the computer and counter are off-line, a USB thumb drive is inserted and the results downloaded to that storage device. From there, the thumb drive is removed, under the watchful eyes of both Kennedy and Dunhour, then taken to a laptop computer that is linked via a dedication line to the County Clerk’s Office where Assistant County Clerk Lizabeth Shay in charge of elections processes the information and places the results onto the CapeMayCountyVotes website.
The thumb drives are secured for 15 days after an election in the event of a challenge that would call for a recount of the data.
Because of the image taken by the scanner, a view is available to a judge who would make a determination as to the validity of a challenged ballot.
Although the information cannot be sent via the Internet, a process has been put into place that will speed the results on election night, not only of mail-in ballots but also for regular machine vote tallies.
Instead of municipal clerks having to deliver their totals to the county clerk’s Court House office, three regional centers have been put into place: outside Woodbine in Dennis Township, for northern municipalities, the board’s Court House office, for those in the center of the county, and its warehouse at the County Airport for southern municipalities.
Kennedy, Dunhour, Shay and Fulginiti were united in grasping the technological advances that makes voting and result access closer than ever.
As an increasing number of voters cast their ballots by mail, the counter will be able to keep up with the influx, and results will be quickly viewed on election night at www.capemaycountyvotes.com.
That website is a one-stop shop for every elections’ results, voter information, to request a ballot, learn how to become a poll worker and more.