Touchscreen Voting: A How to Guide for Collin County Voters

Collin County voters going to one of the early voting locations around the county between October 20th and October 31st will cast their ballots on Premier, formerly Diebold, DRE touch screen voting machines just like the machine shown in the first segment of this video. Collin County voting machines do not have the paper audit tape device shown in the last segment of the video. You may ask the Election Clerk for a Paper Ballot, if you do not wish to use a touch screen.

Please remember to take your Orange Voter's Registration Card with you to the early voting polling place when you vote and PLEASE DO NOT cut off the bar code - election clerks can use the bar code to electronically verify your voter registration status, which makes the voting lines move twice as fast for everyone!!!

 
After you check in to vote you will be given a “Voter Access Card” that looks like the card pictured.

Proceed to any voting booth and insert “Voter Access Card,” arrow first, into the slot located on the upper right side of the voting machine. Push the card all the way into the slot until you hear a “click.” The card will remain in the slot until you touch “Cast Ballot” on the final Ballot Review screen. (Note: The newer version voting machine pictured is being used for the first time in Collin Co. for early voting this year. On Election Day the older version of the same voting system will be used where the "voter access card" slot is located on the front right side of the machine. Otherwise, the voting process described herein is identical.)

A Language selection screen will appear in a few seconds after the card is fully inserted and locked into the slot.

Touch English or Touch Spanish, then, touch the START button at the bottom right corner of the Language screen.

In a few seconds the “Instructions to Voters” screen will then appear.

Double check that the Precinct Number shown at the top of the “Instructions to Voters” box is your correct Precinct Number. If the Precinct Number shown is not your correct precinct number, then the Voter Access Card that you were given may not have been properly encoded for your correct (BS) Ballot Style. Notify the nearest Election Clerk if you do not see your correct Precinct Number.

Note: Your Precinct Number, U.S. Congressional District Number, County Commissioner Precinct Number and other important information can be found on your 2008 Orange Voter's Registration Card. Your Voter Access Card will be encode with the BS (Ballot Style) that corresponds to the candidates and propositions for your particular County Precinct, Congressional District, County Commissioner Precinct, School District, City and etc.

Read the instructions given on the “Instructions to Voters” screen. When you have finished reading the instructions and you are ready to mark your ballot, touch the NEXT button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

To mark your ballot, simply touch the box beside the name of the candidate for whom you wish to vote. The box will change to a X mark as you touch your finger on the box.

If you make a mistake and want to de-select a candidate's X mark, simple touch the check box again - The box will change to a clear open box again with the touch of your finger.

After you have made your candidate selections on each ballot page, touch the NEXT button at the bottom right corner of the screen to advance to the next ballot page to mark.

Repeat this "mark your ballot page then touch NEXT" process until you reach the final summary review page.

Instead of marking every candidate's name individually, you can make a single "Straight Party" vote.

After you have made your "Straight Party" selection by touching the box beside the Party's Name, just touch the NEXT button at the bottom right corner of each ballot page to advance to the next ballot page until you reach the final summary review page.

You should see the box beside every candidate affiliated with your "Straight Party" selection marked with an X on each ballot page as you "NEXT" through the ballot.

Touching the X'ed box next to any candidate's name (that was automatically X'ed when you touched the Party Name) will "un-mark" or "cancel" your "Straight Party" vote for that particular candidate!!

Be sure to very carefully review the ballot summary review page before you touch the CAST BALLOT button. Make sure every candidate for whom you intend to vote has been marked for the vote on the ballot summary. Make sure no candidate for whom you did not intend to vote has been marked on your ballot. Any ballot position where you did not vote for any candidate in that particular race will be highlighted in red. You can go back and change/correct any of your ballot choices before you touch the CAST BALLOT button.

If you have any questions or concerns about how your ballot is marked, how your ballot was automatically marked by your "Straight Party" vote or how to go back to change/correct your ballot, attract the attention of any Election Clerk and ask for help BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE CAST BALLOT BUTTON.

As soon as you touch the CAST BALLOT button on the bottom right corner of the last summary review page, your voting job is done.

The Voter Card automatically ejects after you have finished voting.

PLEASE RETURN “VOTER ACCESS CARD” TO ANY POLL WORKER.

Your registration card must be signed on the front (orange side) by the X on the bottom left side of the card. Please sign your card before you enter the polling place.

Acceptable forms of identification for voting other than your voter registration certificate:

1. a driver's license or personal identification card issued to you by the Department of Public Safety or a similar document issued to you by an agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card has expired;
2. a form of identification containing your photograph that establishes your identity;
3. a birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes your identity;
4. United States citizenship papers issued to you;
5. a United States passport issued to you;
6. official mail addressed to you, by name, from a governmental entity;
7. a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.

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