PONTIAC, Michigan, Apr. 18, 2017 – Oakland County is among a growing number of forward-looking Michigan counties to select the Verity Voting® system from Hart InterCivic. The purchase is part of a statewide, state-funded initiative to replace aging election equipment. The second-largest county in the state, Oakland County cited Verity’s future-ready technology and ease of use, along with Hart’s reputation for excellent customer service, as the primary factors in the decision.

“We applaud Oakland County for its leadership in securing the most advanced voting system technology on behalf of its voters and taxpayers,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Verity’s powerful election management software and compact, easy-to-use polling place devices will serve Oakland County well for many years to come.”

County Clerk Lisa Brown and Director of Elections Joe Rozell were instrumental in choosing Verity and Hart. They worked closely with municipal election officials throughout Oakland County to ensure that all stakeholders’ concerns and priorities were addressed. Voters in selected municipalities will first vote on Verity this August.

“We want everyone in Oakland County to be completely confident in the election process. Verity has security features – like preventing a ballot from being counted twice – that will instill that confidence,” Brown said.

“You can see that a lot of thought went into the design of the voting system,” she added. “A person in a wheelchair can actually reach the accessible ballot marking device and tabulator. We like that all the ballots use the same type of paper – voters who use the accessible device don’t get a different type of ballot.”

Verity’s easy-to-use election definition software, used to prepare ballots and equipment for each election, also caught the attention of Oakland County decision makers. Rozell commented that programming elections will be much easier and faster with the new software. He also expressed excitement about the system’s electronic transmission capabilities, saying, “When precincts send their results to the County via modem for accumulation and reporting, the process will be more secure, and we’ll easily be able to track which precincts have sent results and which haven’t. Only Verity adds the assurance of a federally certified solution.”

Hart has seen tremendous customer growth in recent years, and customers report extremely high customer satisfaction. With its new office in Oakland County, the company will provide local service, as well as serving Michigan customers from its headquarters in Austin, Texas.

“We are proud to welcome Oakland County to Hart’s Michigan family of Verity users,” Braithwaite said. “We look forward to a long, successful partnership with Oakland County and with all our Michigan customers.”

Learn more about Verity in Michigan.

LEXINGTON, Virginia, April 4 – Replacing their aging election equipment, two Virginia jurisdictions have taken delivery of the new Verity® Voting system by Hart InterCivic. Floyd County and the City of Lexington chose Verity for its flexible and forward-looking technology. Hart project managers are working with both jurisdictions to prepare for implementing the system.

“With state-of-the art paper ballot technology, Verity has been a natural choice for many election officials responding to new state regulations in Virginia,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic.

Virginia lawmakers directed localities to choose paper ballot systems as they replace aging equipment. Verity is certified both federally and by Virginia’s State Board of Elections, and the system’s paper ballot technology has set new standards for ease of use and trust. The system has already contributed to smooth elections across the state, including in Lexington’s home, Rockbridge County.

Both Floyd County and the City of Lexington chose the innovative Verity Scan digital scanning device, allowing voters to scan their paper ballots in the polling place, and the Verity Touch Writer ballot marking device for voters with disabilities. The two devices share the same secure, compact hardware platform as well as an easy-to-use interface. The system’s cost-saving features include its use of non-proprietary ballot stock and its low-maintenance design, which frees jurisdictions to perform the simple tasks needed without paying maintenance fees.

“These Verity purchases build on more than a decade of election partnerships between Hart and Virginia localities,” said Braithwaite. “We now work with 16 jurisdictions in Virginia, and we are in tune with local needs. Our collaboration with existing users helped us tailor the Verity solution for Virginia.”

“Hart’s 100-plus years of election experience and our expertise in the change management methods needed to transition to new voting technology are paying off as upgrades roll out across Virginia. We welcome Floyd County and Lexington to the growing Verity family and look forward to serving them for many years.”

For more information on the Verity Voting system, please visit www.hartintercivic.com/verityoverview.

Last week, Rankin County voters were the first in Mississippi to cast their ballots on the state-of-the-art Verity^® Voting system from Hart InterCivic. The School Bond Special Election marked a return to paper ballots for the county’s voters, who have voted electronically for close to 15 years.

Following a lengthy and exhaustive process to find the most cost-effective and simplest method of conducting elections, the Rankin County Board of Supervisors chose Hart InterCivic’s paper ballot and precinct scanner solution. The Supervisors are quite pleased with the results. Board President, Jared Morrison, told his fellow Board members, “This may have been the smoothest election we have had in 15 years. I have heard nothing but positive reports about our new equipment. I believe we can count this election as a great success for Rankin County. Our election commissioners, poll managers, poll workers, county staff and our partners at Hart did an outstanding job.”

“Rankin County chose to move from electronic voting to paper because our electronic machines are fifteen years old and it was becoming almost impossible to service the machines,” said Tonya Rivers, Rankin County Election Commissioner. “The electronic equipment had outlived its useful life, and it was time for a change. Our new system, using a combined paper and scanner approach, is much simpler and more reliable.”

“Voters loved being able to mark their ballots, scan them and walk out. We’ve had a lot of positive voter feedback, both face-to-face on Election Day and on our personal Facebook pages.”

Hart launched its user-friendly Verity Voting system in 2015 as a single, unified platform that supports both paper-based and electronic voting. For Rankin County, ease of use for voters and poll workers was the primary factor in choosing Verity. The choice has paid off in voter satisfaction and poll worker reports of easier equipment setup and operation on Election Day.

The county’s IT department is also impressed with the system’s ease. Rivers said, “Rankin County quit programming our own elections about 10 years ago. It was just too complex with the iVotronic, and the liability was high, so we paid the vendor to do it for us all those years. With Verity, programming elections is straightforward and simple; the Board of Supervisors and our IT department decided to bring the task back in house. This first election proved this to be a good decision – we needed extra ballots at the last minute, and in less than a minute, our IT lead sent me instructions, which I was able to easily follow to produce the ballots we needed.”

Rivers added, “Tabulation and reporting went extremely smoothly. The stress level at Election Central has never been this low for any election.”

Because of Rankin County’s procurement timeline and election schedule, the county had just two and a half months to implement the new Verity system. Rivers said, “Hart held our hand from day one – they made sure we felt comfortable every step of the way. They walked us through acceptance testing, brought us up to speed quickly with hands-on training and provided amazing training materials and guides. They have been responsive to my emailed questions at all hours and were right here beside us on Election Day.  Hart is taking good care of us; I have nothing but high praise.”

Other Mississippi jurisdictions interested in seeing Verity in action are invited to contact Ms. Rivers or Hart InterCivic (512.252.6409) for a demonstration of the system.

New election technology shaped by Ohio voter input has passed rigorous state and federal testing and is now available for Ohio jurisdictions to purchase. The Secretary of State’s office has certified that Verity® Voting, the latest technology from Hart InterCivic, meets all state requirements to ensure fair, fast and accurate elections for the next 10 or more years. Verity is a proven, sustainable system already in use or being deployed in eight states.

“We appreciate this vote of confidence and look forward bringing the industry’s most modern, easy to use and secure voting system to Ohio. We have partnered with Hamilton and Williams counties since 2006, building on our knowledge of Ohio elections and incorporating Ohio customer input into Verity’s design,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic.

“We are eager to show Verity’s advancements to counties ready to replace outdated equipment.”

Initially federally certified in 2015, Verity is an integrated suite of software and a thoughtful combination of U.S.-assembled, purpose-built devices and enterprise-grade commercial hardware, designed from the ground up to make the election process easier and more secure for voters and administrators. The system supports paper ballots, and it is fully accessible to all voters, including those with disabilities.

Verity’s compact size is getting a lot of attention from election officials. The briefcase design and collapsible ballot boxes save warehouse space and make the system simple to transport and set up on Election Day.

Voters appreciate the user-friendly Verity Touch Writer, an accessible paper ballot marking device that provides seamless accessibility at the polling place. It is paired with Verity Scan, which allows voters to feed their marked ballot directly into the tabulation device and verify their cast votes.

Hart currently provides election solutions to more than 560 jurisdictions and is known for outstanding customer service, which has contributed to significant recent growth across the U.S. Unlike other voting system providers whose growth is attributed to acquisitions, Hart’s organic growth has resulted from jurisdictions switching from old providers to Hart.

“Hart commits as a partner, not just a vendor. The time is right for Ohio jurisdictions to upgrade with Verity and enjoy the customer support and new technology they deserve,” Braithwaite said.

For more information about the Verity Voting system, please visit www.hartintercivic.com/verityoverview.

Vote-by-mail pioneer Oregon has added a powerful election system option for counties wanting to replace aging systems. After rigorous testing, the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division certified the second major release of the Verity Voting system from Hart InterCivic, which has served Oregon jurisdictions for a decade.

“Hart appreciates the state’s confidence in Verity. We have an ongoing commitment to bringing innovative, efficient and transparent by-mail solutions to Oregon,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic.

Election managers know Verity for its speedy, scalable central scanning of by-mail ballots. The new certification means that Verity’s newest version meets all state requirements to ensure fair, fast and accurate elections. Verity is a proven system already in use in eight states. The newly certified enhancements include more efficient paper ballot generation and expanded reporting capabilities.

“We have current partnerships with Clackamas, Curry, Marion and Yamhill counties and look forward to working with more local jurisdictions as our presence in the Northwest expands,” Braithwaite said. In addition to these Oregon counties, Hart InterCivic serves most of Washington State and portions of Idaho, including Ada County, home of Boise.

Verity Voting’s first release was certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission in May 2015. Existing Verity users and new customers will benefit not only from the newly certified products in the Verity family, but from features tailored to mail-in voting needs.

Verity Central is a scalable high-speed scanning system for by-mail ballots. Verity’s modular, convertible design protects customers’ investments by delivering a longer product lifecycle and flexibility to adapt to future needs.

Verity also offers modern software that sets new standards for clarity and usability:  Verity Build for ballot definition and Verity Count for tabulation, reporting and auditing. Designed with an approachable, plain language style, Verity software enhances productivity and improves the voting experience.

For more information on the Verity Voting system, please visit www.hartintercivic.com/verityoverview.

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22 – Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of Hart InterCivic’s Verity® Voting system in mid-December, 10 Texas counties have purchased the state-of-the-art system. To date, more than 3,100 Verity devices have been shipped across the state.

“As counties replace aging voting equipment, Verity is the logical choice for Texas jurisdictions,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of election experience. “Verity’s innovative efficiencies for both electronic and paper-based voting, along with Hart’s trusted name across the State, make choosing Verity easy.”

“It helps that Verity was born and built in Texas. We now provide voting system solutions to 111 counties in the state, and our Texas partners know we value their input. We built Verity to meet their needs,” he added. “The system is particularly well suited to the growing number of user-friendly and convenient Vote Centers, which more and more Texas counties offer their voters.”

How is Verity different?

Verity is the only all-new, EAC-certified system that provides an integrated platform for all voting types.

For jurisdictions that vote electronically, as most in Texas do, the Verity Touch direct record electronic (DRE) voting solution offers unique benefits. Unlike other electronic voting systems, Verity uses a centralized approach to managing the voting devices in the polling places. A single console (Verity Controller) monitors and controls as many as 12 voting terminals, and allows poll workers to assign ballot styles remotely. An available integration with an electronic poll book automates this process, thus reducing the chances for error.  The controller model also greatly reduces warehouse tasks required for each election, since only one device per polling place requires configuration for each election.

On election night, Verity allows officials to publish results faster, because poll workers close polls on all voting terminals at once and report consolidated totals in just one step; there is no need to collect votes from every device separately.

The system’s easy-to-use touchscreen is familiar to voters who have come to expect the latest technology. A lightweight, removable tablet and an array of accessibility features accommodate all voters, including those with disabilities.

Voters can switch between available ballot languages at any point in the voting process, adjust the font size and/or contrast on the screen, and control both the speed and the volume of the audio if they are using the headphones.

For jurisdictions that vote using paper ballots, Verity’s second-generation digital scanning technology speeds up voting in the polling place (Verity Scan) and brings a new level of transparency to high-speed scanning of absentee ballots (Verity Central). Verity Touch Writer provides advanced accessibility features that allow all voters to mark their ballots privately and independently.

The AutoBallot option integrates electronic poll books with electronic or paper-based voting. By automatically selecting the proper ballot style based on the check-in process, AutoBallot ensures accuracy and speeds up the voting process to reduce long lines at the polling place.

Combined with thorough vetting at the federal level by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the rigors of Texas’ certification process assure election stakeholders that the system will deliver trustworthy results on behalf of the state’s voters.

To see the full list of Texas Verity counties and learn why they chose Verity, visit https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas4verity.

COLDSPRING, Texas, Feb. 16, 2017 – San Jacinto County joins the growing group of counties in Texas to leave another election solutions provider to acquire the Verity Voting® system from Hart InterCivic. County officials chose Verity Touch for electronic voting, since San Jacinto is a Vote Center county. In side-by-side comparisons with the other devices on the market, voters, poll workers and county officials overwhelmingly preferred Verity Touch.

Voting systems around the country are aging, and most Texas counties are now considering replacing systems purchased more than a decade ago. By joining the vanguard of new Texas Verity customers, San Jacinto County will enjoy superior equipment, lower operating costs, better customer service, and a business partner born and based in Texas.

“San Jacinto County is a welcome addition to the Hart family as early adopters of Verity. We’ve served our neighbors throughout Texas for more than 100 years and look forward to sharing that in-depth local experience with our new partner,” said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Verity offers modern, flexible options that can adapt to changing needs and serve San Jacinto County for years to come.”

Vicki Shelly, Elections Administrator for the county, praised the forward-looking support her team received from County Judge John Lovett for approval of the Verity purchase.

“The benefits of Hart’s polling place controller model are enormous,” Shelly said. “Our poll workers will no longer be required to administer every voting device separately for every election. This will reduce risk, reduce errors, and increase efficiency in getting our election night results.”

Shelly adds, “The small size and light weight of the Verity system were other huge factors in our decision. Many of our poll workers are older, and they have difficulty managing the big, heavy equipment we were using. Also, our storage space is limited. It would have been impossible for us to work with the other devices on the market – they are even larger than what we had.” She is excited about implementing the new system for the local elections on May 6, 2017, and about San Jacinto County’s new partnership with Hart InterCivic.

With Verity, San Jacinto County voters will for the first time enjoy the privacy and independence of entering the voting booth alone and activating their own ballot. They will also be able to adjust the font size and/or contrast on the voting device, and even change the language if they choose, without the need for assistance.

Poll workers will perform all device operations only on the Controller – they will open polls, close polls, and run reports on only one machine in each polling place, rather than having to perform all of these tasks on every device separately as they had to do with the previous system. Elections office staff will only need to program the Controllers, one for each polling place, rather than every single voting device used in the election as they did before, so that their warehouse time and effort will be dramatically reduced. And with so many fewer memory devices to read for tabulation on election night, elections office personnel will have reports ready sooner than in the past.

“Hart already provides election solutions for the majority of Texas voters, with voting systems in 113 counties, and we expect to announce additional Verity commitments in the state within weeks,” Braithwaite said.

Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas4verity.