General Info
Bridget Simmons Murphy of the Elections Division of the MA Office of the Secretary of State hosted Accessible Voting Equipment Vendor Fairs in five locations (Middleton, Northampton, Brockton, Watertown and Worcester) the week of August 10.
The fairs were opportunity for voters with disabilities, advocates and town clerks to review, test, and provide feedback on the accessible voting equipment that will eventually replace Massachusetts’ accessible voting machines, the AutoMARK.
The state also plans to have some new machines at various election sites in November so that more voters can try them out. They will not replace the official AutoMARK for actual voting. Stay tuned for these locations if you missed the fairs!
The current AutoMARK machines have been in use since they were bought with HAVA funds in 2006. While the version in use in MA is no longer supported by Elections Systems and Software (ESS), we were assured by Bridget that the state has hundreds of backup machines and parts which are deployed to key locations throughout the state for quick responses to issues on election day.
Attendees will be asked for feedback through emailed surveys.
Bridget is planning a collaborative process with stakeholders to choose the next machines. Attendees will be asked for feedback through emailed surveys. The ELections Division has a goal of new machines being in place for the fall of 2028 elections.
Please note: We are including different opinions, observations and view points about the different machines, but at this time, REV UP MA does not prefer one vendor over another.
Bay State Council of the Blind (BSCB) member, Nona Haroyan, attended the Worcester Fair and shared her evaluation of the process and the machines in the latest Bay Lines Express. Read Ms. Haroyan’s Accessible Voting Machines review (docx) or Ms. Haroyan’s Accessible Voting Machines review (pdf) . Her most important statement? “Our voices mattered.”
Vendors
Eleven vendors were invited by the state to showcase their systems, but only four chose to participate.
The HAVA grants may no longer be available, so funding sources will need to be determined. Machines are priced in the $5000 – $8000 range, and the state has 1,725 polling sites.
Elections Systems and Software
ESS has a new version of the AutoMARK machine used today in Massachusetts. Some key features include a handheld keypad with Braille, and the use of actual ballots. Because the ballots are simply marked and not printed, the ink should last for many years. ESS is the only single machine – the 3 other vendors use an attached printer.
DemocracyLive
The product is the OMNIBALLOT tablet. MA uses Democracy Live for accessible vote by mail. There is no braille on the keypad, but the keys are fewer and simpler than other vendors. The ballot is printed using an attached printer. Voters use a QR code from a poll worker in order to pull up the correct ballot.
LHS Associates/Dominion ImageCast
With ImageCast, the ballot printed on separate printer and not fed in. Voters are given a unique activation card for their ballot which they insert into the machine to load the ballot. This card is returned when casting ballot. The Dominion keypad has Braille and is different from other systems.
Smartmatic
The ballot is printed on a separate printer, and not fed in. More info soon
Going Forward
Attendees will be asked for feedback through emailed surveys.
Bridget is planning a collaborative process with stakeholders to choose the next machines. Attendees will be asked for feedback through emailed surveys. The ELections Division has a goal of new machines being in place for the fall of 2028 elections.
REV UP MA would like to see more fairs in more locations across the state with an emphasis on feedback from voters who use accessible machines. While advocate and town clerk feedback is critical, the voters with disabilities are the most important.
