Matt Parrott prints voting ballots for over 1/2 of Iowa's 99 counties...
PLUS Municipal and School Elections.

Voting Ballots Team/Specialists

"Parrott has worked hard not only to understand our special needs, but assemble a team of specialists to keep our ballots accurate and legal."

- Western Iowa Auditor

County Auditors Group Tour of Matt Parrott, Helps Prepare AIS Users for Election Time

Waterloo, IA - Shown looking through school election paperwork, part of the AIS electronic ballot system, are auditors Dawn Williams of Marshall County and Susan Bonham of Harrison County. It was a 100 degree day when several dozen humidity-weary county auditors gathered at Matt Parrott headquarters in Waterloo, Iowa. They had attended their county auditors meeting all day. Their visit to Matt Parrott included a plant tour, and Q&A sessions with the ballot team specialists over welcome refreshments.

The AIS users group of auditors were impressed with Parrott's simple, efficient method of keeping the ballot printing operation on-time under some tough deadline conditions. Parrott offers a Ballot Preparation Manual for users to help make their task easier.

The AIS electronic reading system includes customized printed ballots for every precinct. This system puts a ballot into the voter's hands; creates an audit trail for certification and recount situations.

Paper Ballots That Tally Fast: AIS Election Processing Systems

AIS changed the way ballots are counted, not the way they are cast... The Voting Process On election day, every jurisdiction follows its own unique procedure for voter declaration of eligibility. After that, however, balloting remains substantially the same from one voting jurisdiction to the next with the AIS system: 1. Each voter receives a paper ballot that lists only those races and issues for which he or she is eligible to vote. 2. The voter indicates his or her preferences by marking the ovals next to the desired candidates or issues.

With the AIS system, no demonstration units are required to explain more complicated methods of voting. When voting is finished, the voter inserts the ballot into a sealed ballot box to be efficiently and accurately counted later by an AIS central or regional counting center, or into an AIS precinct counter with self-contained ballot box at the polling location.

The Tabulation Process
The AIS election system is classified as an Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system. The primary function of each reader is to feed ballots automatically past a group of optical scanning sensors that detect the presence or absence of the voter's mark. The readers perform several audit checks on each ballot to ensure the accuracy of the tallies produced. Both sides of the paper ballot are scanned simultaneously.

In addition to recording voter responses, the system also scans identification codes to determine ballot type (party affiliation, for example), format, and origin.

Security - To ensure the security of election totals, election system analysts unanimously agree that vote total databases should not be accessible to the system's operators. AIS readers are self-contained processing stations; system operators are prevented from gaining access to the vote total data base. Furthermore, AIS systems provide multiple audit trails - including the ultimate audit trail, the paper ballot itself. In the unlikely case that security is breached, paper ballots can always be recounted.

Central Counters and Precinct Counters Work Together - Voted ballots may be counted at regional or central counting centers or at the polling place. In small to medium sized jurisdictions, an AIS system serves as a complete election processing system, capable of counting and reporting votes from all polling places. In larger jurisdictions, processing time is enhanced by using a multiple configuration of AIS systems. The AIS precinct counter is designed to count and record ballots as they are deposited in the ballot box at the polling place. All AIS OMR systems work together seamlessly to manage election results, so election supervisors can select any configuration or combination of systems.

Accuracy and Reliability - An independent test authority (ITA) has certified that AIS equipment exceeds the Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines for accuracy. More importantly, AIS equipment has proven its reliability and accuracy through more than a decade of widespread, actual use. All AIS equipment carries the approval of both the FEC and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED).

Ease of Use - Most jurisdictions find that their existing election personnel adapt easily to this new technology.

Election Management Software Systems

AIS's integrated election software systems provide a wide array of functions and reporting processes:

AIS-100 AIS-150 AIS-550

Local Election Management System - LEMS - local voter registration management and election support, consisting of multiple independent software modules. State Election Management System - SEMS - state-wide voter registration management and election support, consisting of multiple independent software modules. Ballot Definition System - BDS - a database for collecting and organizing election specific information (e.g., races, candidates, issues) to define and develop a ballot. Ballot on Demand - BOD - provides the ability to generate a voter specific ballot on demand for pre-election day voters at the touch of a button. Election Reporting System - ERS - a vote collection, tallying and reporting system for election management and the media. Voter History Update - VHU - permits voters' history to be automatically and rapidly updated by scanning poll book pages using AIS OMR systems. All AIS software is PC windows based and mutually compatible, provides a common user interface, and features seamless application.

The Solution for Pre-Election Day Voting - Federal, state and local governments have accumulated large databases relating to elections. Analyzing this information has identified some significant voting trends. Statistics now show a dramatic increase in the number of eligible voters casting pre-election day ballots. In many jurisdictions, it is not uncommon to see 15 to 20 percent of the total vote cast prior to election day. In some areas where requirements have been liberalized, the proportion of early-voted ballots has exceeded 50 percent.

As the voting population gets older, the trend toward early voting will continue. Today's election officials must weigh this fact heavily when evaluating voting systems. Some systems don't offer a pre-election tabulation solution. AIS readers are now recognized as the logical choice for processing pre-election day ballots reliably and accurately. AIS systems are serving as "stand-alone" subsystems in many jurisdictions presently using lever and punch card systems for polling place voting.

Unlike other OMR systems, the AIS paper ballot does not require special folding or handling instructions. The ballot can be folded in any manner and inserted into a standard business envelope without affecting the system's ability to read the ballot accurately.