Cleveland County Tests The Balotar Compact Printer During Early Voting
As jurisdictions gear up for November 3 and next year’s Presidential Election, many are tasked with a complex expenditure— purchasing ballots for voters. By law, many jurisdictions are required to purchase enough ballots for 100% of their registered voters, a significant investment by itself. When you factor in low voter turnout, however, it isn’t always clear how many ballots a jurisdiction truly “needs”. How can elected officials comply with their election laws while still managing their cost per voter?
Election System & Software’s Ballot on Demand solutions are just the ticket. Each Balotar prints the correct ballot as needed, eliminating the potential for ballots to go un-used, while also ensuring jurisdictions don’t run out of ballots on Election Day. The Balotar is an accurate, efficient and highly cost effective method for jurisdictions to manage the ballot printing and distribution for all of the choices voters have to cast their ballot.
On demand ballots getting a test in Cleveland County; Board: With potential for low turnout, could cut down on waste
By Casey White | Posted Oct. 20, 2015 at 3:57 PM — Updated Oct 20, 2015 at 4:15 PM
Brittany Randolph/The Star
Deputy Director of the Cleveland County Board of Elections Clifton Philbeck scans ballots as Val Guyett of Election Systems and Software and Neil Baddour of the State Board of Elections discuss a new printing mechanism for voting on Tuesday.
Early voters for the 2015 election in Cleveland County will get a chance to test out a new voting system.
Balotar, the new system, involves printing ballots on demand rather than ordering ballots for every registered voter. According to Clifton Philbeck, deputy director at Cleveland County Board of Elections, printing on demand prevents waste during the voting process.
“Typically, we order ballots, and we have to order 100 percent of the ballots,” Philbeck said. “With a low turnout, that’s a lot of waste. It wastes a lot of paper.”
Dayna Causby, director of elections at the Cleveland County Board of Elections, said the new system would be especially helpful in preventing waste during county and municipal elections, like the 2015 election, when voter turnout is generally lower.
Since the county is only testing the system during early voting, they also ordered ballots for voters in order to have a backup plan. The Board of Elections is required to test new voting systems before implementing them.
“We’re meeting the requirement, so the board can have the opportunity to make a choice over several different systems,” Causby said.
On demand ballot printing is currently used in both Buncombe and Johnston counties. Cleveland County is one of five North Carolina counties testing the system during this year’s early voting.
Board of Elections board member Allen Langley said they are always excited to test new systems and equipment. According to Langley, the process is all about finding the best method for voters.
“We need to make it as simple as possible for the voter to have a positive experience,” Langley said. “That, to me, is part of our obligation to the voters.”
Early voting begins on Thursday and Election Day will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, so the Board of Elections is in the process of testing all of the equipment that will be used.
Early voting takes place at the Cleveland County Board of Elections office, 215 Patton Dr. Shelby, NC 28150.
Original article available here: www.shelbystar.com/article/20151020/NEWS/151029951.