STERLING CITY, Texas, October 11, 2018 – Knowing it was time for a new voting system, Sterling County Commissioners and Elections Department selected Verity® Voting from trusted election solution provider, Hart InterCivic. The County’s new equipment arrived last week, and training is in progress.
“Hart is great to work with,” said Election Clerk Stacie Denton. “This is my first year in elections. I started here last October and jumped right into the November election. People don’t realize all the work that goes into an election! Hart has been so helpful – they came out to help with our election last year, and they’ll be with us for this election. Our trainer for the new system is extremely knowledgeable. We’re ready to get started.”
“Our equipment was 13 years old. We got a lot of years out of it, but it was definitely time to replace it,” Denton continued. “This new Verity system will be good for Sterling County. We love it; it’s much simpler. And the Verity units are half the size of our old equipment. Everything is smaller and more compact.”
Sterling County voters will be invited to preview the new system before Early Voting begins October 22.
“Our voters will like the touchscreen,” said Denton. “We’ve had comments – even from the older voters – asking when we were going to go to a touchscreen. Keeping the community happy and taking care of our voters is what we’re here for.”
“We understand Texas counties have a choice when it comes to purchasing a new voting system,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. “Verity is the best choice; it is newly designed to be the most secure and easiest-to-use system. We appreciate Sterling County’s forward-looking choice of Verity, and we look forward to supporting successful elections in the County well into the future.”
Sterling County joins a growing number of Texas jurisdictions moving to Verity. Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of the Texas-built system in late 2016, Hart has shipped more than 8,000 Verity devices across the State. First federally certified in 2015, the secure and efficient system is also in use in numerous counties throughout the U.S.
Braithwaite expects more announcements as additional jurisdictions choose Verity to refresh their election technology.
Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas/
REFUGIO, Texas, October 9, 2018 – In a region still slowly recovering from Hurricane Harvey, rebuilding has been a long, time-consuming process for many. Repairs continue in county offices, and there is uncertainty about the future of the courthouse. However, with the help of Texas-based Hart InterCivic, replacing aging election equipment with modern, secure voting technology is on the fast track. Refugio County Commissioners chose to purchase Verity® Voting in mid-September, and Hart delivered new equipment the following week.
“I was concerned about a short turnaround before our November election, but Hart had Verity delivered and my office trained within two weeks,” said Elections Administrator Rachael B. Garcia. “Hart knew the importance of my timeline.”
“Refugio County is still living with Harvey’s catastrophic fallout. We have partnered with their elections team since 2005, and it is our privilege to work with them to deliver successful elections,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. “The County has made a solid choice for the future.”
“We have never been dissatisfied with Hart or our election system,” said Garcia, who has more than a decade of election experience. “When other vendors would come by with their pitches, I’d listen, but always tell them upfront how pleased we are with Hart.”
Verity is a federally and state certified system designed and built in Texas. More than half of the voters in the State cast their ballots on Hart’s voting systems. Verity is a natural next step for those ready to modernize and has flexibility to be used with paper, electronic or hybrid voting. Refugio County voters will mark their choices using touchscreens.
“Verity has a “Wow” factor,” Garcia said. “Our voters and poll workers are going to love the system and the touchscreen. It is easy, fast and will simplify our preparation. I am very excited.”
Neighboring Aransas and San Patricio counties are already successfully using Verity, another advantage for Refugio County and the region. “We’re a close-knit group. We share information and help each other out,” Garcia said.
“I’m confident looking ahead to the November election,” she added.
Refugio County joins a growing number of Texas jurisdictions moving to Verity. Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of the system in late 2016, Hart has shipped more than 8,000 Verity devices across the State. First federally certified in 2015, the secure and efficient system is also in use in numerous counties throughout the U.S.
Braithwaite expects more announcements as additional jurisdictions choose Verity to refresh their election technology.
Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas/
Hart InterCivic announced today its participation in the EAC Election Readiness Summit, which the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) will host on Wednesday, October 3.
The purpose of the summit is to share election administration information and best practices with the public and lawmakers in advance of the midterm elections. Panels and presentations will cover such topics as election security, investments in accessibility, post-election audits and related subjects critical to safeguarding the electoral process and conducting secure, equitable and efficient elections. Following these formal sessions, an open house will showcase election solutions from vendors who choose to demonstrate their products.
“We applaud the EAC for gathering the nation’s election experts and stakeholders to up-level everyone’s knowledge and awareness in this arena so critical to our democracy,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Hart appreciates the opportunity to participate in this noteworthy event and to give participants a first-hand look at our new Verity® Voting system – the most secure, modern system available. Because we designed Verity from the ground up, it incorporates the latest security protocols and usability features.”
“Election security is in Hart’s DNA,” Braithwaite added. “We are proud of the role we play in the election technology space and look forward to talking with summit attendees about how we integrate security into everything we do.”
The EAC Election Readiness Summit is open to the public and the press. Registration is recommended (see link above). Hart invites all in-person attendees to visit us during the open house. Those who cannot join the summit in person can follow the conversation online at #Countdown18.
CINCINNATI, Ohio, September 26, 2018 – In 2019, voters in Hamilton County will be casting ballots using the most modern, secure election technology available. To ensure the best choice for their voters, County election officials spent more than a year vetting systems.
Verity® Voting from Hart InterCivic rose to the top of five systems being considered and will debut May 2019 in the County.
“Verity was our unanimous choice, and we could not be happier,” said Director of the Board of Elections Sherry Poland. “Our due diligence began in 2017 as we viewed demonstrations from each vendor. As bipartisan decision makers for one of the largest counties in Ohio, we take this process very seriously,” said Poland, who has more than 14 years’ experience managing elections.
Two finalists in Hamilton County were asked to stage weeklong mock elections. Election officials and experienced poll workers scored the vendors’ systems on criteria including opening and closing polls, voting ease, ballot reports, recounts and audits. Members of the public, including those with disabilities, voted in the mock election and gave feedback also.
Verity was the clear choice.
“Hamilton is the first Ohio county to choose Verity, and we appreciate their confidence in Verity and Hart,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, which has more than 100 years’ experience working with elections. “We’ve partnered with Hamilton County since 2006 and are proud to take this step forward with them. Verity will serve the County for many years to come.”
“Our Board and Commissioners are familiar with Hart’s customer service and have confidence in their people and technology,” said Deputy Director Sally Krisel, who has worked in elections for two decades. “Over the years, we’ve conducted many recounts and post-election audits, which have proved the reliability of Hart’s systems. That builds trust.”
Election Director Poland took the additional step of visiting an established Verity user to see the system in action. “I went to Prince William County, Virginia, to witness a recent primary election,” she said. “We were glad to hear poll workers describe how easy it was to learn and use Verity. I saw it for myself.”
Election managers also appreciate Verity’s compact size, briefcase design and collapsible ballot boxes. “With 345 polling locations and 2,400 election workers, the flexibility of easy-to-transport equipment will streamline delivery and pickup,” Poland said.
Voters may not notice much of a change when they go to the polls, as Hamilton County has used paper ballots since 2006. Those requiring help with accessibility will use the Verity Touch Writer, a paper ballot marking device that provides seamless accessibility and privacy.
The County will take delivery of the new equipment after the first of the year, and Krisel is looking forward to the thorough, hands-on training she knows her team will experience with Hart. “Not only are they eager to help us learn, but they are willing to teach us everything to be self-sufficient.
“It is important for our voters to know that elections are programmed by our bipartisan staff, not by an outside agency. Hart trainers taught us what we need to know to do it ourselves,” she said.
Poland agreed. “For a large county in a state often watched nationally, even as a swing state in a presidential election, it is extremely important to us that bipartisan election officials program, test and maintain the equipment, rather than having a vendor do it for us. We have always programmed and tested our own elections. Hart gives us the ability to do that,” she said.
Yet, when needed, Hart is just a phone call away.
“Hart has always been quick to respond, and even quicker to anticipate our needs,” said Poland. “Our staff is on a first name basis with their staff. When we call, we know we are talking to someone who knows us, our system and our expectations.”
Additional Ohio counties are considering Verity, and Braithwaite expects more announcements in the coming months.
For more information about the Verity Voting system, please visit https://www.hartintercivic.com/ohio/
Palo Pinto County Elections Administrator Laura Watkins demonstrates the county’s new electronic voting machines and a polling site control unit at Wednesday’s Rotary Club of Mineral Wells meeting.
County commissioners this year appropriated $306,000 to purchase 58 new voting machines – including 18 handicap voting pads that will allow people with mobility challenges to vote curbside from their vehicles. The machines are the Verity voting system product line made, sold and supported by Austin-based Hart InterCivic.
“Our commissioners listened to us a couple of years back when we said we would need some new voting equipment,” Palo Pinto County Elections Administrator Laura Watkins told Rotary Club of Mineral Wells members on Wednesday. “Ours were outdated. We knew eventually we would start having problems.”
Watkins brought with her one of the new voting machines and a polling site controller to demonstrate their functionality.
Hart InterCivic has been involved in Texas elections for more than 100 years, beginning in 1912 when it delivered paper ballots to counties by horse-drawn wagons. Palo Pinto County acquired its paper ballots from Hart InterCivic before going to electronic voting 12 years ago.
Today, Hart InterCivic is in about half of Texas’ counties and 18 states. In the November 2016 election, 58 percent of the voters in Texas cast their ballots on one of 3,354 Verity voting machines that were in use, according to the company.
Polling site officials will have a main command machine used to oversee the individual polling machines onsite. One big difference is that no longer will a polling site official accompany the voter to their machine and start it for them. The voter will do that.
If a voter needs assistance, there is a button on the screen that will alert the polling official on their command unit.
The county instituted countywide voting two years ago – meaning a county resident can vote at any county polling site. The system will produce their ballot based on their address and information. Watkins said countywide voting has increased elections participation.
Watkins told Rotarians there are 17,818 people currently registered to vote in the county, including 7,931 in Mineral Wells.
The Nov. 6 ballot includes mid-term federal and state races along with two special interest elections – one calling to make Mineral Wells completely wet by eliminating the private club restrictions on restaurants to sell liquor by the drink and a so-called Tier II countywide election that, if passed, will require cities conduct an election before it could annex land.
Watkins said the important thing for residents to know is the county’s electronic voting system and machines are safe and secure.
“They are not connected to the Internet,” Watkins said of the electronic voting devices. “None of this is connected to the Internet. The only thing connected to the Internet is the poll book. It is connected to our office. Can monitor number of voters from office.”
She said the county should be able to receive in the near future some federal Help Americans Vote Act (HAVA) funds to help further ensure system security.
“We will get in on that in January,” said Watkins. “The voting equipment is not hackable in Texas. What was hacked in some places were the voter rolls. Our county did not have that problem. We are locked down pretty tight.”
She said the machines have three points of security and internal redundancies to save and protect data and information.
“Everything is password protected by three passwords through codes,” Watkins said.
“Social media has changed elections so much and it will continue to change elections,” she said. “Sometimes in a good way and lots of times in a bad way. It’s not that we don’t want people taking pictures of their ballot, it is that we don’t want people taking pictures of somebody else’s ballot. Voting is private. It is your own thing to do. It is private to do. Nobody should ever know how you voted.”
With 16 years’ elections administration experience in Palo Pinto and Parker counties, Watkins said voter confidence is of utmost importance.
“Our biggest goal in this process with bringing forth security to our office is navigating the changes that the state and federal government are putting forth to us and then instilling voter confidence. That is the biggest thing is the voter confidence,” she said.
Key election dates:
• Sept. 25 – National Voter Registration Day.
• Oct. 9 – the last day to register to vote for Nov. 6 election.
• Oct. 22 – the first day of early voting.
• Oct. 26 – the last day to request a ballot by mail.
• Nov. 6 – election day.
For more information, visit the Palo Pinto County Elections Office here or call 940-659-1217. You can reach Watkins by email at laura.watkins@co.palo-pinto.tx.us.
BEEVILLE – Bee County will be making the switch soon to an all-digital voting system.
This comes as county commissioners approved the purchase of $338,383 new machines from Hart Verity Voting.
These 50 machines, 35 touch and 15 for disabled voters, will not be in place for the November election but will be coming to a polling location soon.
“These units will be spread throughout the county as needed, depending on the election,” said Laura Warnix, county elections administrator.
The commissioners court approved combining voting locations into 10 polling locations throughout the county.
“During smaller elections these can be combined down to five locations most convenient to accommodate the voters,” she said.
These new machines come with some added benefits such as portability. Tablets can be taken to the voter if they are unable to come into the election office.
Commissioner Carlos Salazar Jr. voiced concern for the lack of paper ballots.
“Elderly people will be intimidated by this,” he said. “You are going to have some people who won’t go vote because they aren’t going to want to mess with this.”
“We have had numbers of elderly coming in saying they want to try it,” Warnix countered.
John Thompson, with Hart, also acknowledged this concern, saying, “I see election equipment every day. Laura sees election equipment every day.
“The average voters sees election equipment one, twice, maybe three times a year, so it can be intimidating.”
For most voters though, this change will be minor.
“As far as the voter experience, it doesn’t change at all. The only difference is now when they try to bang on it to do the touch screen, they can actually touch it and do the touch screen,” Thompson said.
There is an added benefit to this system.
“Once we go electronic, you will be able to vote at any polling location,” said Bee County Judge Stephanie Moreno.
One small change that voters will notice is the lack of paper being used.
“We use a paper combination form now,” Warnix said. “This system will allow them to capture the signature electronically.”
With all of this digital equipment being used, it is important to know that none of it is connected to the internet.
And those viruses that hit computers — they aren’t able to install on these machines.
“There is a list of programs this system can run,” Thompson said. “That is it.
“If anyone were to try and load a program outside of those five programs allowed on these devices, these devices will shut down.
“You cannot put any other programs on there, so you aren’t having to constantly update it for viruses.”
It is worth noting that no voting system is ever connected to the internet.
“The stuff you see in the media are voter registration systems at the state level. Some media outlets still want to call them voting systems,” Thompson said.
While it is not required by the state, the county unanimously approved this purchase because of the age of its machines.
“Our equipment is slowly dying out on us, and they are not making this equipment any more so we cannot even replace it with what we have,” Moreno said. “And we cannot cross-contaminate the equipment. So we have to buy the whole new set.”
“Every few years, you have added a piece here and there,” Thompson said. But now, it is 13 years since that first purchase.
Any fixes made on their current equipment are done with used parts.
“Those systems were meant to last between 10 or 15 years. What is happening is those systems are no longer manufactured,” Thompson said. “Imagine if you have a cell phone built in 2000, you probably cannot find parts anymore.
“As the months and years go by, we are using used parts to fix them.”
The first election voters will see this equipment will be in May.
“We value our partnership with Bee County, and we applaud them for taking this important step forward,” said Phillip Braithwaite, president and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. “We look forward to many years of successful elections in the county and know Verity will serve them well.”
Verity equipment, which was purchased by the county from Hart, will arrive in Bee County after the November election.
“We’re planning a series of mock elections to let our voters get their hands on Verity,” Warnix said. “We think they’re going to love it.”
Jason Collins is the editor at the Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 343-5221, or at media@mySouTex.com.
MATTHEWS, North Carolina, Sept. 11, 2018 – Hart InterCivic announced today the opening of a North Carolina office. Located in Mecklenburg County, the Matthews office is dedicated to serving counties across the State. Hart is the industry leader in election technology with an all new paper-based voting system – Verity® Voting. Headquartered in Austin, Texas and with regional support offices in Pontiac, Michigan and Honolulu, Hawaii, Hart has more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions to jurisdictions of all sizes nationwide.
“Hart is committed to successful North Carolina elections for the long term,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Verity signals a new standard in voting security, auditability and ease of use. North Carolina voters deserve to experience the level of trust that comes with truly modern, secure technology.”
With Verity, the voter will hand-mark a paper ballot, then cast the vote by inserting the ballot into the Verity Scan machine, which digitally records voter choices and deposits the ballot into a secure ballot box. The Verity Touch Writer ballot marking device provides a touchscreen and accessibility features, including an audio ballot, to ensure equal access to the electoral process for all voters. Verity Print lets election workers print ballots on demand, saving on pre-printed ballots and accurately matching the right ballot to each voter.
The system, federally certified by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and already certified in 12 states, is currently undergoing certification in the State of North Carolina.
For more information on the Verity Voting system, please visit www.hartintercivic.com/voting-solutions/verityoverview/
Beeville, Texas, September 5, 2018 – Bee County elections are undergoing a transformation. With the County’s purchase of new Verity® Voting system technology this month, voters there will see a secure, easy-to-use new system. The move to Verity also signals a shift toward the convenient countywide vote center model, which will allow Bee County voters to cast their ballots at the polling place of their choice. A strong comfort level with longtime voting system provider Hart InterCivic played a large part in the County’s Verity selection.
“You couldn’t ask for a better partner than Hart,” said Elections Administrator Laura Warnix. “Being fairly new to my role, it makes a huge difference to be able to pick up the phone any time I have a question. It’s nice to always have that calm reassurance at the other end of the phone line.”
Warnix also finds reassurance looking to the successful Verity roll-out in neighboring San Patricio County. She said, “I have heard nothing but good about Verity. It’s a top-notch product – much more secure than other systems out there. With all you hear about cybersecurity, it’s good to have a system with more security measures in place. Plus, it’s going to help with our workload.”
“We value our partnership with Bee County, and we applaud them for taking this important step forward,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. “We look forward to many years of successful elections in the County and know Verity will serve them well.”
Verity equipment will arrive in Bee County after the November election. “It’s going to better the County,” said Warnix. “We’re planning a series of mock elections to let our voters get their hands on Verity. We think they’re going to love it!”
Braithwaite expects more announcements throughout 2018 as jurisdictions refresh their election technology across Texas and nationally.
Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas/
BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX) – As voters look forward to November’s midterm elections, your local elections office is preparing to keep your vote secure.
At the Brazos County Elections Administration, elections administrator Trudy Hancock is overseeing a multitude of checks and balances that are in play before, after, and on Election Day: it’s everything from seals that are GPS-tracked to carrying cases that are never left alone.
Hancock says that while some voters may be concerned about the security of their vote, she is decidedly not.
“None of the election equipment itself is ever connected to the internet, so there is never any possibility of a cyberattack,” said Hancock. “A person would have to physically walk into a polling location or into our office to manipulate or change any of those votes.”
You can see the equipment tested for yourself on Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Brazos County Election Administration at 300 William J. Bryan Parkway, Bryan.
View full video of the demonstration.
By Kathleen Witte |
Posted: Thu 5:18 PM, Sep 06, 2018 KBTX-TV
Bonner County Elections Office has received a number of questions about our “voting machines” that I would like to address.
Bonner County has never had electronic voting. All of our elections are done exclusively with paper ballots. The machines we use for disabled voters are designed to aid the physically challenged voter, mark and print a ballot for ease of voting, and to assure the voter’s privacy. The ballot can be completed and reviewed by the voter before it is printed, or filled out by hand after it is printed. In all cases, the voter proofreads the paper ballot prior to submitting it to the poll judge in order to make sure the votes are what they intended. In essence the machines we use are nothing more than fancy pencils.
We design the ballots in our office and load the design onto the “ballot marking device” in our office. There is no internet or cable connection to these machines. The optical scan machines we use to count the ballots are secure in the same way. They are programmed and tested in our office, and there is no way to connect to them outside of our office. Each machine is locked, and access coded. In the way that I am sure no one has hacked my pencil, no one can hack these machines. And if they could be hacked, the voter would see the problem as soon as he looked at his printed ballot.
Bonner County replaced the outdated ES&S equipment two years ago with the Hart InterCivic Verity system, spending about $220,000 in order to protect the security and accuracy of our elections.
We would like you to know that your ballot marking devices and optical scan ballot counting machines are state of the art, secure, accurate and unhackable. Despite what you hear on radio and TV, the elections in Bonner County are completely trustworthy.
CHARLES WURM
Clark Fork
Bonner County Senior Elections Supervisor