Lehigh County’s voting machines use a two-sided paper ballot system that is straight forward and easy to use.
Voters sign in with an electronic signature screen pad, but will be given a paper ballot to vote on. This involves using a pen to fill in an oval next to the names of the candidates chosen by the voter. Once the ballot is filled out, the voter feeds it into a machine that scans and records the ballot. The paper copy is immediately stored in a locked container inside the scanning machine. Voters who make an error on their paper ballot will be able to request a new ballot from a poll worker. These machines will provide an auditable paper trail, which should provide the greatest integrity in the event of a recount. These machines are not connected in any way to the Internet and poll workers do not handle the completed ballots.
Visually impaired voters will still be able to vote on an electronic machine, specifically designed for that use, in every polling place.
Easy-to-follow illustrated instructions for the new machines are available on the Lehigh County Website’s How to Vote page.