10 Texas Counties Adopt Latest Election Technology

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of Hart InterCivic's Verity® Voting system in mid-December, 10 Texas counties have purchased the state-of-the-art system. To date, more than 3,100 Verity devices have been shipped across the state.

"As counties replace aging voting equipment, Verity is the logical choice for Texas jurisdictions," said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of election experience. "Verity's innovative efficiencies for both electronic and paper-based voting, along with Hart's trusted name across the State, make choosing Verity easy."

"It helps that Verity was born and built in Texas. We now provide voting system solutions to 111 counties in the state, and our Texas partners know we value their input. We built Verity to meet their needs," he added. "The system is particularly well suited to the growing number of user-friendly and convenient Vote Centers, which more and more Texas counties offer their voters."

How is Verity different?

Verity is the only all-new, EAC-certified system that provides an integrated platform for all voting types.

For jurisdictions that vote electronically, as most in Texas do, the Verity Touch direct record electronic (DRE) voting solution offers unique benefits. Unlike other electronic voting systems, Verity uses a centralized approach to managing the voting devices in the polling places. A single console (Verity Controller) monitors and controls as many as 12 voting terminals, and allows poll workers to assign ballot styles remotely. An available integration with an electronic poll book automates this process, thus reducing the chances for error. The controller model also greatly reduces warehouse tasks required for each election, since only one device per polling place requires configuration for each election.

On election night, Verity allows officials to publish results faster, because poll workers close polls on all voting terminals at once and report consolidated totals in just one step; there is no need to collect votes from every device separately.

The system's easy-to-use touchscreen is familiar to voters who have come to expect the latest technology. A lightweight, removable tablet and an array of accessibility features accommodate all voters, including those with disabilities.

Voters can switch between available ballot languages at any point in the voting process, adjust the font size and/or contrast on the screen, and control both the speed and the volume of the audio if they are using the headphones.

For jurisdictions that vote using paper ballots, Verity's second-generation digital scanning technology speeds up voting in the polling place (Verity Scan) and brings a new level of transparency to high-speed scanning of absentee ballots (Verity Central). Verity Touch Writer provides advanced accessibility features that allow all voters to mark their ballots privately and independently. 

The AutoBallot option integrates electronic poll books with electronic or paper-based voting. By automatically selecting the proper ballot style based on the check-in process, AutoBallot ensures accuracy and speeds up the voting process to reduce long lines at the polling place.

Combined with thorough vetting at the federal level by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the rigors of Texas' certification process assure election stakeholders that the system will deliver trustworthy results on behalf of the state's voters.

To see the full list of Texas Verity counties and learn why they chose Verity, visit http://www.hartintercivic.com/texas4verity.

About Hart InterCivic, Inc.

Austin-based Hart InterCivic is a full service election solutions innovator, partnering with state and local governments to deliver secure, accurate and reliable elections. Working side-by-side with election professionals for more than 100 years, Hart is committed to helping advance democracy one election at a time. The Hart mission fuels passionate customer focus and a continuous drive for technological innovation. The company's new Verity Voting system makes voting more straightforward, equitable and accessible—and makes managing elections more transparent, more efficient and easier.

SOURCE Hart InterCivic, Inc.

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