How to Vote – Using the Optical Scan Voting System

Most people who vote on election day, do so in person, at their polling place. You should go to the designated polling place for your voting district in order to cast your ballot. The polling place will have a list or lists of registered voters, organized alphabetically by street name and house number.

At the Polling Place you should 1.) Go to the Checker line for the street you live on, give the checker your name, and present the proper identification; 2.) Step to the Ballot Clerk’s table and receive your ballot; 3.) Take your ballot to an available privacy booth, read the directions, and fill out the ballot for your choices by filling in the proper ovals using the pen provided; and 4.) Take the completed ballot to the Tabulator and vote it by feeding it into the Tabulator through the optical scan slot.
The Ballot Clerk will offer you a privacy folder which you may use to protect the privacy of your vote.

If you make an error filling out the ballot, take it back to the Ballot Clerk and request a new ballot.

If, for some reason, your name is not on the official checker’s list, the assistant registrars will be called in to help. In this way other voters can continue to be checked in and vote while the problem is resolved.

Generally the lines run quickly and the process works smoothly. Election Officials are trained to assist voters who have difficulty standing for long periods of time by finding chairs for them and moving them to the head of the line when necessary. The tabulator is able to accept ballots quite quickly, so it should not be a source of delay. The Tabulator vote storage bin must be emptied from time to time, but voting may continue by use of the side pocket. This method is also available in the case of power failure to the Tabulator; however instances of power failure should be quite rare, as the back-up battery can run the Tabulator for several hours.