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Video Text
CHRIS DURKIN:
Hi, I’m Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, and in order to come into compliance with HAVA Help America Vote Act. Essex County will be using the New Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machines starting in the June 6th Primary Election. I would like to introduce Andy Wynham, Election Systems consultant to Essex County who will give you a step by step demonstration of our new voting machine.
ANDY WYNHAM:
Hi, again my name is Andy Wynham and I would like to thank County Clerk Chris Durkin for allowing me to do this demonstration today. We do want to show the voters of Essex County how truly easy it is to vote on the new voting system, and how similar this voting system is to operate as the old equipment they had the mechanical machine that served this county well for so long.
The voting machines behind me I want the voters to see there is a privacy curtain on the machine. For the sake of the demonstration I need to remove that curtain and proceed voting on the new machine is very easy. At the same time it’s also similar to what we use to do. Like take the voter back to the old machine for just a moment. We enter the machine are pull down on the lever. The difference on this machine is you enter the machine and instead of pulling the lever you touch one of the numbered buttons. The moment you touch the button the X illuminates right here and you know the choice you’ve made.
You’ve got the confirmation. At the same time in the readout right here at the buttons of the panel I could see the name of the person I voted for so I have a double confirmation that what I thought I did is what I did. Now on our old machine of you make a mistake, you simply push the lever back up, on this machine if I make a mistake I simply touch the square again the X goes off and I could make another selection. It really is that simple. Now some things the voters ask about I want to point out are the same on both machines. For instance, this race here for general assembly is a vote for what. If I make one selection and I push another button nothing happens. You cannot over vote this voting machine. Now there has never been any requirement that you vote for every position. You don’t have to vote for every office and if it’s a vote for 3 or a vote for 2, you don’t have to vote for every candidate. But, you can never vote for more positions that are allowed. So again its as simple as touching the buttons turning on the X’s underneath all the candidates that you want to select.
Now one thing is different on this machine from the other machine. On this machine there is no big red handle to pull to cast you ballot and open the curtains. In effect that’s what the handle was really for, to cast the ballot. The curtains just happen to open so that we can get out. On this machine there’s a cast vote button in the lower right hand corner. I’ll step out of the way and you could see right here. When you’re done making all of your selections the last thing you do just like the last thing you did on your old machine was pull that handle, the last thing you do is press the cast vote button. That casts your ballot, your ballot was blank so no one else can see how you voted and you could exit the voting machine.
Again, lets just repeat this I’m going to activate the machine once again. Now this time I want to point out something else. This particular ballot is a primary ballot. In the primary only a portion of the machine is available to every voter. At this moment I just activated the machine for a Republican voter just before it was activated for a Democratic voter. You saw me voting in the upper area the Democratic area, now as a Republican voter you could only have access to the bottom are so now again I push the button the X comes on, I push the button the X goes out and so on until I have made all of my desired selections. Just like before on you old machine if you were Republican and I tried to pull a Democratic button nothing happens. That’s the way this system works. In a primary election as you recall Republican and Democrats are the only ones who could participate. You’ll have the option however, if you have never chosen a party to declare a party on the date of the primary and note in that primary election. So again, Republican portion, Democratic portion you only vote the portion of the ballot that is available to you. As before you you’re done making all you selections, you press the cast vote button and exit the booth.
Okay there is one other type of vote that we have to discuss so the voter knows how to use this machine and that’s a write-in. On our old voting machine the write-ins were at the very top of the machine, we raised a slot and we hand wrote the candidate of our choice. On this machine the process is a little different, again let me activate the machine in this case I’m going to go right to the House of Representatives position right here in every contest there’s a corresponding write-in button. If I push the write-in button things operate differently. I have now a blinking X at my write-in spot as oppose to the solid green X we had before. A blinking X means you’re not done, to write in on this machine you actually use the keyboard at the bottom of the ballot. To type in the name of the person you want to vote for, you want to vote for yourself. I’m going to vote for Andy, I simply type in my name ANDY, there’s a space I could spell my last name WYNHAM and I could see the name as it appears in the LCD screen to the left. If I like everything I’ve typed and I’m all done the final step is to press the enter button on the keyboard that records the write-in and my X stops blinking. Now one other thing about write-ins, on your old machine when you lift that write-in slot you were committed, there’s no turning back that’s the way the machine was designed it was the law of the time. This machine is designed the same way with one exception, if I choose a write-in position just to demonstrate again, I choose a write-in for general assembly I have a blinking green X. I could type in my name at the bottom of the keyboard, but prior to the moment that I press enter on the keyboard I could still deselect that write-in and choose anther position. So this particular machine you’re not committed until you press the enter button on the keyboard.
CHRIS DURKIN:
I hope that this demonstration has been helpful in showing you how easy it is to vote on these new machines. I encourage all registered voters to participate in every election. I am Essex County Clerk, Chris Durkin and I will see you at the polls.