Paper Ballot Voting System Arrives In DuPage County

WHEATON, IL — DuPage County recently received its new Hart InterCivic Verity paper ballot voting system, which replaces the current optical scanners and touchscreen machines voters have used in the county for more than 15 years. The shift is expected to make the voting process run more smoothly for voters and election judges alike.

County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek likened the long-awaited milestone to Santa's storied arrival on Christmas.“Our office couldn’t be more excited about new voting machinery if it were delivered by reindeer pulling a sleigh," Kaczmarek said in a news release.

"Some of the staff opening the boxes were young children when the previous equipment was purchased 20 years ago,” Kaczmarek added. “We’re anxious to share the next generation of equipment with voters and election judges in 2022."

The county's former voting system encountered glitches in Oct. 2018.

DuPage County's hopes that the new, on-demand ballot printing system will make the voting process more secure, equitable and efficient. Each ballot will be the same size and shape as the other, and an accessible device will be available for voters to mark their ballots.

County officials tapped Austin-based Hart InterCivic for the new voting system, which does not connect to the internet, something that prevents hackers from accessing ballots, a news release said, calling it the "most secure, transparent, and user-friendly voting system on the market."
Hart InterCivic's system is also designed to tabulate write-in votes and accommodate ranked choice voting.

The new system is also designed to reduce lines at polling place and make startup and shutdown more efficient.