Voters in a select polling place in Franklin County, Idaho had the opportunity during the election on November 8 to test an innovative new tool to increase confidence in elections called ElectionGuard. Hart’s integration of ElectionGuard into Verity is part of a continued commitment to voting technology innovation that results in higher levels of voter confidence in the election process.
Hart is the first major voting machine manufacturer in the United States to provide independent verifiability to voters, giving individual voters the ability to confirm their ballots were counted in an election.
“As an experienced election solution provider, Hart is proud to have assisted in moving the technology from a concept to a solution ready to be piloted in an election system,” said Jim Canter, Chief Technology Officer of Hart InterCivic. “Along the way we had to account for real world implications in jurisdictional processes and methods, and most importantly, gauge the benefit to elections officials, poll workers, and voters.”
The ElectionGuard pilot took place in a single precinct in Franklin County, Idaho and was the first live election to experience this open-source collaboration with Microsoft, Hart InterCivic, the State of Idaho, and several other specialized technology partners.
“Our mission is to foster transformative technology initiatives that help our customers,” said Julie Mathis, CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Involving the voter in the ElectionGuard process elevates confidence in the accuracy and security of elections by providing an additional avenue for transparency.”
Voters in the precinct participating in the pilot filled out a paper ballot as usual and then placed their ballot into a Hart Verity scanner to cast their vote. Upon completion of the scan, the voter was provided with an ElectionGuard-powered confirmation code. The Franklin County Clerk’s office used the Hart Verity system to count the ballots and announced the result of the election as usual. Once the election count was complete, voters at home were able to check their confirmation code on an entirely separate web portal to confirm their ballot was counted in the final election results. This process was done without revealing the content of the voter’s ballot which maintains the privacy and secrecy of their selections. The ElectionGuard technology also allowed for the election’s final tally to be confirmed by anyone interested in running the results through a verifier and comparing the output to the official election results.
“It was exciting to be a part of a pilot program that shows the voters we are listening and trying new ways to improve voter confidence in elections,” said Camille Larsen, Franklin County Clerk.
About ElectionGuard
ElectionGuard is a new election technology that lets voters confirm that their ballot was counted and provides independent verification that the election results are correct, without revealing how anyone voted. Learn more at https://www.electionguard.vote. For more information about the Verity Voting system, please visit https://www.hartintercivic.com/better-elections/.
About Hart InterCivic, Inc.
Election Integrity starts with Hart. Hart’s end-to-end election solutions and services enable Election Officials the ability to conduct elections with confidence and deliver accurate results with ease. Count on Hart to be by your side through the entire election cycle. Only Hart provides the secure and certified voting systems you expect plus the tools, services and support you need before, during and after election day. You can have confidence in us so your voters can have confidence in you.