Ballot marking system and apparatus having periodic ballot alignment compensation

• US 20050061880A1
• Filed: 11/01/2004
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Election Systems & Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ES&S Automark, LLC
• Inventors: Vanek, Joseph M., Cummings, Eugene M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,314,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/386
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus

Abstract

A terminal for marking a paper ballot which lists a plurality of candidates and which includes a marking space for each candidate which can be either hand-marked by a voter, or machine-marked by the terminal. The terminal scans the ballot to determine the ballot format, and then presents candidate selection options to the voter visually by means of an LCD touch screen menu and aurally by means of a synthesized speech menu. Candidate selections entered by means of the touch screen menu or by means of the audio menu are accurately marked on the front and back sides of the ballot in marking spaces corresponding to the selected candidates by having an alignment scan prior to printing and periodic alignment scans that collect data during printing to compensate for ballot rotation angles due to continuous skewing, and the ballot is returned to the voter in a form which enables the voter to visually confirm that his or her selections have been marked. The ballot, whether hand-marked or machine-marked, is inserted in a ballot scanning device, wherein the ballot is tallied and deposited in a ballot box.

Claims

1. A ballot marking apparatus for recording on a pre-printed paper ballot voter selections from one or more election contests, comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of paper guide members forming a paper path for the ballot within said housing;

paper drive means for advancing the ballot along said paper path;

a print head disposed along said paper path for printing on the ballot;

a print head control circuit for controlling the operation of said print head;

a scanner disposed along said paper path for generating periodic output signals indicative of the position of the ballot while said ballot is being printed on;

a skew compensation circuit responsive to said scanner output signals for developing error signals indicative of continuous skewing of the ballot while said ballot is being printed on within said paper path; and

said print head control circuit being responsive to said error signals for periodically adjusting the printing location of said print head on the ballot while said ballot is being printed on to compensate for said continuous skewing within said paper path.

2. A ballot marking apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein a plurality of scanners are disposed along said paper path for generating a plurality of output signals during printing for said compensation circuit, said compensation circuit generating multiple error signals for said print head control circuit in response to said plurality of output signals, said print head control circuit responding to said error signals to adjust the printing location of said print head during printing to compensate for the continuous skew of said ballot within said paper path.

3. A ballot marking apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said scanner is disposed along said paper path after said print head, said paper drive means advancing said ballot beneath said print head to begin printing and then beneath said scanner for periodic scans during printing to compensate for said continuous skewing within said paper path.