Voting System in theNovember 4, 2008General Election

Produced by the

Iowa State Association of

County Auditors

Voting system

• What kind of voting system will voters in Iowa use in the 2008 General Election?

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a question is posed

Voting system

• Voters in all 99 Iowa counties will vote on paper ballots

• (Show picture here of voter marking a ballot)

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a principle is presented

Voting system

• For a voter the ballot will look the same, regardless of whether the voter is:

Voting system

• For a voter the ballot will look the same, regardless of whether the voter is:

• voting at the polls

Voting system

• For a voter the ballot will look the same, regardless of whether the voter is:

• voting at the polls

• voting an absentee ballot

Voting system

• For a voter the ballot will look the same, regardless of whether the voter is:

• voting at the polls

• voting an absentee ballot

• voting a provisional ballot

Voting system

• For a voter the ballot will look the same, regardless of whether the voter is:

• voting at the polls

• voting an absentee ballot

• voting a provisional ballot

• using a ballot-marking machine for assistance in marking the ballot

Voting system

• Do all voters’ ballots in Iowa look the same for the 2008 General Election?

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a question is posed

Voting system

• A voter’s ballot will vary depending on:

U.S. Representative district

Voting system

• Voters’ ballots will vary depending on:

U.S. Representative district

Iowa Senate district

Voting system

• Voters’ ballots will vary depending on:

U.S. Representative district

Iowa Senate district

Iowa House district

Voting system

• Voters’ ballots will vary depending on:

U.S. Representative district

Iowa Senate district

Iowa House district

County Supervisor district (some counties)

Special district (some counties)

Voting system

• The specific races and issues listed on the ballot are defined by the voter’s residence

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a principle is presented

Voting system

• How are the ballots counted?

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a question is posed

Voting system

• Ballots at the polls will be counted by a precinct-count optical-scan machine called a ballot scanner

• (Show picture here of voter inserting voted ballot into ballot scanner)

Voting system

• Absentee voters’ ballots will be counted at a central location (often the courthouse) with similar optical-scan machines

• (Show picture here of absentee precinct election officials scanning voted absentee ballots)

Voting system

• Also, a ballot-marking machine will be available at each precinct for voters who need assistance in marking their ballots

• (Insert picture here of voter using ballot-marking machine at polls)

Voting system

• The ballot-marking machine allows persons with blindness or visual impairment to vote privately, as required by the Help America Vote Act

• A voter need not have a disability to use the ballot-marking machine

Voting system

• The ballot-marking machine simply prints the voter’s votes onto the ballot

• It does not count any votes

Develop a logo or picture to be displayed or a special formatting for each time a principle is presented

Voting system

• One benefit of the ballot-marking machine is that because it doesn’t count any votes, it can be used by absentee voters

• (Show picture here of ballot-marking machine in use at auditor’s office for absentee voting)