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Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Devices
Direct Recording
Electronic (DRE) voting systems directly record the voter’s
selections in each race or contest on the ballot in electronic form.
Such systems can be compared with mechanical lever voting machines,
which directly record votes on mechanical counters inside the machine.
Neither DREs nor lever voting machines create a tangible physical
record of the voter's selections on a physical ballot. Typical DRE
machines have flat panel display screens with touch-screen input,
although other display technologies have been used, including print on
paper, and other input technologies have been used, such as push
buttons. The defining characteristic of these machines is that votes
are captured electronically and stored in that form. Such machines may
print a durable paper record of the votes cast, for example, after the
polls are closed or on an internal printer, but this record is not
subject to voter verification. DRE machines also record event logs
giving the time of each significant operation on the machine, such as
when it was set up for an election, when the polls were opened, when
the polls were closed, and when a ballot was cast (but not which
ballot was cast then). At the close of polls, vote totals, the event
log, and all votes cast may be printed. In addition, electronic
records of these may be extracted from the machine (for example, on
removable media such as disks or compact electronic memory modules),
or the records may be transmitted electronically to a vote collection
center (for example, by modem). Procedures for using these
alternatives vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Typically, the
electronic transmission or the electronic memory module is delivered
to a central vote-counting system (for example, in the county election
headquarters), where jurisdiction-wide totals are computed.
There are three subtypes of DRE, based on the style of user
interfaces/interaction:
- The touch screen
DRE. These systems use a touch screen to collect user input when not
in an audio ballot mode.
- The full-face DRE.
These DRE systems generally involve electro-mechanical human
interface using switches providing tactile feedback to the voter,
and have no paging.
- DRE with
off-screen mechanical control in which the user views options
displayed on a screen but provides input via buttons, switches,
dials or other input devices.
Software is updated
in DRE systems via various methods, specific to each voting system. In
general, software updating involves someone (a technician or election
official representative) installing new software over older software
typically using whatever medium the DRE uses to transport votes or, in
some cases, laptop computers with special software running on them
provided by the vendors. One or a small number of DREs later function
as a Ballot Definition System, producing election definition files
which are installed in the DREs generally at a county warehouse
facility. (Note that some DREs require a stand-alone PC to do ballot
programming.)
View a document describing scenario
assumptions for other voting device types.
View an all-in-one document describing the four primary voting device
types.
Other voting device types:
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