Press Release
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
NEW VOTING EQUIPMENT ARRIVES TO DUPAGE – CHRISTMAS EARLY IN COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE
WHEATON, IL – New voting
equipment has arrived to the DuPage County Clerk’s Office. Staff is busy
unpacking the Hart InterCivic Verity paper voting system featuring 100 percent
paper ballots scheduled to be in place for the 2022 Primary election.
“Our office couldn’t be more
excited about new voting machinery if it were delivered by reindeer pulling a
sleigh. Some of the staff opening the boxes were young children when the
previous equipment was purchased 20 years ago,” County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek
says. “We’re anxious to share the next generation of equipment with voters and
election judges in 2022.”
DuPage is very proud to be
the first county in Illinois to use complete on-demand ballot printing for both
Early Voting and Election Day voting. Not only are we upgrading to the most
secure, transparent, and user-friendly voting system on the market, but we are
also saving the County money by printing only the ballots needed by voters so
there is no waste. Finally, and most importantly, our County’s new system will
ensure all voters have the same voting experience; there is no different size
or shape of ballot for voters with disabilities. Voters can use a fully
accessible ballot marking device and that device produces a ballot that looks
like all others. Everyone will be treated equally.
Austin-based Hart InterCivic
has 109 years of election experience with 780 customers in 19 states. Hart’s
voting systems are designed, engineered and built in the USA.
The next-generation Verity
system was certified by Illinois this year meeting the highest election
security standards. Verity is never connected to the internet, making it
impossible to hack. The Verity Scan allows reliable audits of voter intent with
digital captures of all scanned ballots. The system offers automatic counting
for write-in votes, ranked choice voting capability, faster and reliable
recounts and multiple language options.
Every aspect of operations is anticipated to
become more efficient with the new system, including quicker lines in polling
places and easier start-up and shut-down for election judges. Hart will
integrate well with the KNOWiNK poll pads for checking in voters.