[NFBV-Alexandria] FW: Testing of new voting equipment for Alexandria

Fri Sep 1 23:40:33 UTC 2017

Dear chapter members,

Please see Ms. Leider's detailed response to my email today about the
decision on which voting machine Alexandria would be purchasing. 

I've asked to be notified when the machines are available for testing and
practice. 

Well done, everyone!

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Brian Miller

President

Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia

From: Anna Leider [mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov] 
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2017 5:20 PM
To: BrianMiller
Subject: RE: Testing of new voting equipment for Alexandria

Hi Brian,

The Electoral Board will be purchasing the VERITY system from Hart
InterCivic. 

And, yes, we will arrange to have a demonstration machine here for viewing
and practice prior to the November election. We should get more information
about delivery schedules next week. 

Once we get further into the process we will add content about using VERITY
to our website. But Charlottesville has been using this system for a while:

http://www.charlottesville.org/home/showdocument?id=45542

In fact, if you search on Hart Verity Touch Writer, you will find quite a
few instructional sites.

The VERITY system is very similar to our current voting system (same
manufacturer) so we hope it will be an easy adjustment. 

In getting feedback from voters who tested the three systems, including
Evelyn Valdez, it seemed that VERITY gave them some trouble with the first
step-entering the access code (which brings up the ballot), but the process
improved after that. The next version of VERITY will eliminate the access
code, so we hope voting on this system will be much more intuitive in future
elections.

Also, we will need to train our election officers so they are sure to let
voters know they can adjust the audio, speed up the tempo, or mask the
screen (so no one can see it) during the voting process.

By November, the vendor will also be supplying us with instructions in
braille to supplement the audio.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Anna Leider

General Registrar

Office of Voter Registration and Elections

City of Alexandria

132 North Royal Street, Suite 100

Alexandria, Virginia 22314

703.746.4050; Direct: 703.746.4527; Fax 703.838.6449

 <mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov> Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov

 <http://www.alexandriavoter.org/> www.alexandriavoter.org

Check your voter registration information at
<https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation>
https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation.

From: BrianMiller [mailto:brianrmiller88 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2017 9:02 AM
To: Anna Leider <Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov>
Subject: RE: Testing of new voting equipment for Alexandria

Good morning Ms. Leider,

My name is Brian Miller and I'm the president of the Alexandria chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV). Several of our
chapter members were able to test the three proposed voting machines on
display at the registrar of voter's office in Old Town this week. 

I understand from one of those who tested the machines - Evelyn Valdez -
that the city would make its decision Wednesday morning. I am writing to see
if a decision was made, and if so, which machine was selected. 

We were pleased that all machines tested afforded the voted the opportunity
to cast a vote independently, including the feeding of the paper ballot into
the optical scanner. 

I was also wondering if the selected machine will be available for viewing
and practice voting prior to the November election. 

I will forward any information you can provide at this time to my chapter
members and beyond. I appreciate your attention to our concerns, and I look
forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Brian R. Miller, Ph.D.

President

The Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia

From: Anna Leider [ <mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov>
mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov] 
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2017 3:22 PM
To: Robert Hartt
Cc:  <mailto:brianrmiller88 at gmail.com> brianrmiller88 at gmail.com
Subject: RE: Testing of new voting equipment for Alexandria

Thanks so much for your email.

We hope some members of your organization are available to stop by on Monday
or Tuesday.

All three of the new systems we are testing have headsets so voters can
listen to the ballot, and mark their choices independently. The primary
difference between the new systems and our current system is that after
voters finish making their choices, the new system prints a paper ballot
which reflects those choices and the voter scans his or her ballot into a
central scanner along with all the other paper ballots. 

While each of the three new systems works in the same fashion, there are
definitely differences in how they operate, especially for voters who need
to use the accessibility features.

I'm not sure how much information the companies have on their websites in
terms of understanding how the systems really work, but I have provided
links below:

Hart Verity (Verity Touch Writer):
<http://www.hartintercivic.com/content/verity-system-overview>
http://www.hartintercivic.com/content/verity-system-overview or
<http://www.hartintercivic.com/Product/verity-touch-writer>
http://www.hartintercivic.com/Product/verity-touch-writer

ES&S Express Vote:
<http://essvote.com/products/12/12/universal-voting-system/expressvote/>
http://essvote.com/products/12/12/universal-voting-system/expressvote/

Unisyn:  <https://unisynvoting.com/openelect-ovi/>
https://unisynvoting.com/openelect-ovi/

We had hoped to have a much longer testing period, but the state will likely
make a sudden decision to require the removal of all paperless systems, so
we will be forced to make this change on a very short timeline.

Anna Leider

General Registrar

Office of Voter Registration and Elections

City of Alexandria

132 North Royal Street, Suite 100

Alexandria, Virginia 22314

703.746.4050; Direct: 703.746.4527; Fax 703.838.6449

 <mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov> Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov

 <http://www.alexandriavoter.org/> www.alexandriavoter.org

Check your voter registration information at
<https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation>
https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation.

From: Robert Hartt [ <mailto:bobmhartt at gmail.com>
mailto:bobmhartt at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2017 12:55 PM
To: Anna Leider < <mailto:Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov>
Anna.Leider at alexandriava.gov>
Cc:  <mailto:brianrmiller88 at gmail.com> brianrmiller88 at gmail.com
Subject: Testing of new voting equipment for Alexandria

Ms. Leider - Regarding the email below announcing the availability of new
voting equipment for testing, I am blind and have enjoyed using the
accessible voice output machines currently in use for Alexandrians who are
blind.  Unfortunately, I will be out of town next week when citizens are
invited to try the equipment under consideration.  As a member of the
Greater Alexandria Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, however,
I am copying our President, Brian Miller, on this email so he can spread the
word to our Alexandria members.  I am confident we can find one or more of
our members to test the equipment during the viewing hours.

If you have any information about the accessibility features of the
equipment being considered, we would be happy to distribute this to our
members.

Thank you,

Bob Hartt

4005 Ellicott Street

Alexandria, Virginia  22304

From: Alexandria eNews [ <mailto:noreply at everbridge.net>
mailto:noreply at everbridge.net] 
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2017 8:51 AM
To:  <mailto:bobmhartt at gmail.com> bobmhartt at gmail.com
Subject: Provide Feedback on Potential New Election Equipment

You are subscribed to the free Alexandria eNews service. Replies to this
message will not be received. For correspondence, please use the contact
information in the body of the message.  

Alexandria Voters Invited to Provide Feedback on Potential New Election
Equipment

The Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections is evaluating
potential new voting equipment to comply with a state law phasing out
electronic ballots.

As part of the evaluation process, three voting systems will be available at
the Office of Voter Registration and Elections for public viewing and
testing on August 28 and 29, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Office is located at
132 N. Royal St. No appointment is needed.

Please stop by and provide your input. Elections staff will be present to
answer any questions. You are welcome to invite your neighbors, friends, or
anyone else who may be interested in Alexandria elections.

For more information, contact Anna Leider, General Registrar, at
anna.leider at alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4050.

To change your subscription choices,  <http://www.alexandriava.gov/eNews>
click here to login.  To request removal of your account, email
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