National Park Voters To Test Paper Ballot Program On Election Day

NATIONAL PARK, NJ — Voters in National Park will participate in a pilot program to test a system that produces a verified paper trail during the Nov. 6 general elections, Gloucester County officials announced on Wednesday.

The state has released funds from the $100,000 2018 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Election Security Grant to establish a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) Pilot Program.

The goal of this pilot program is to assist counties to begin the process of transitioning from their current paperless voting systems to new voting systems that produce a voter verifiable paper record of each vote cast.

Through use of the federal funding, the county will be able to explore new voting technologies at no cost to the taxpayer, according to officials.

On Oct. 17, the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a contract to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) to provide a new vote tabulation system for the Gloucester County Superintendent of Elections to use in the state pilot program.

ES&S's ExpressVote XL combines a touch screen ballot marking device with a voter verified paper audit trail. This allows the voter to review their voting choices to ensure their vote is accurately recorded.

The verified audit trail also provides a paper record of the election that can be used for recounts and will be used for audits, officials said. The ExpressVote XL is federally certified by the Election Assistance Commission and the State of New Jersey.

Ten voting machines will be used at the National Park polling place on Election Day, according to Gloucester County Superintendent of Elections Stephanie Salvatore. National Park was selected because it has one polling location and it is close to the Superintendent of Elections Office, she said.

Voters in National Park will cast their votes in the U.S. Senate election between incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez and Republican challenger Bob Hugin, as well as the First Congressional District race between incumbent Democrat Donald Norcross and Republican challenger Paul Dilks.

They will also vote for sheriff, surrogate and freeholder. The local municipal election is uncontested. Representatives from the vendor and from the Superintendent of Elections will be on hand throughout Election Day at the National Park polling location.

The image of the ES&S ExpressVote XL was provided by Gloucester County officials