Putnam Election Commission Considering Voting Machine Add-On

Members of the Putnam County Election Commission are considering adding a device to current voting machines ensuring that ballots are being properly cast.

The add-on created by MicroVote would create a voter-verified paper audit trail, (referred to as VVPAT or V-PAT), allowing voters to see their ballots before submitting them.

MicroVote Representative Bill Whitehead said the new add-on could be used as early as next year.

“There’s still some time left, but the reality is next year will probably be more business-as-usual with the voting system as it is,” Whitehead said. “But we had to get out in front of it because it takes time to research and develop something like this.”

Paper rolls and ballot receipts would be kept in a lockbox with a window allowing voters to see their vote while preventing any tampering with the ballot.

Whitehead explained the purpose of the V-PAT machine and showed election commission members how the system works during their April meeting.

“There are people out there that are going to take this very serious, and they should, and we are too. We’re very sensitive to that, [and] it’s the same data that’s going to be able to be reviewed on the machine,” Whitehead said. “Once you cast your ballot, [the receipt] says ‘ballot cast’ and everything above ‘ballot cast’ is what’s been cast.”

Whitehead said each paper roll can account for up to 450 ballots per machine.

“Our mindset right now is that the only ones that will have to have a paper roll change will be the ones through early voting,” Whitehead said. “Also, the only people that should really be trained on changing paper rolls should be technicians, not your common poll worker. Most people are kind of in agreement with that.”

The V-PAT add-on would allow the election commission to use their current machines and not purchase new ones.

Whitehead noted the new add-on will likely be used in Indiana this fall. How the machine tests in Indiana will allow both Tennessee and Kentucky voters the opportunity to see the add-on in action.