MADISON — Starting in the spring primaries on February 18, your vote will be not only counted, but saved — in the form of a digital photo of your anonymous ballot — for verification in the event of a recount, thanks to new voting machines being funded in part by the Dane County Clerk and Board of Supervisors.
Voters will now fill in ovals next to the name of the candidate for whom they wish to vote, instead of completing an arrow as on the old ballots.
Additionally, the tabulators will immediately inform voters whether their ballots are valid. If so, the screen on the tabulator will display the words, “Thank you for voting!” If not, the screen will display an appropriate message about a problem with the ballot.
“That validation process will take a few seconds,” said County Clerk Scott McDonell. “It’s important that people wait just a few seconds after inserting their ballot to make sure it’s been accepted. If you accidentally overvote or something else goes wrong, it’ll tell you that right away. We just really want people to know they need to give it that extra few seconds.”
