Nueces County Upgrades to All-New Verity Voting System

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Sept. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ease of use for voters and poll workers was a key consideration in Nueces County Commissioners' approval of Hart InterCivic's Verity® Voting, an all-new system specifically designed to be user-friendly. County Clerk Kara Sands determined that Verity would streamline the voting process for voters, poll workers, and elections staff, while providing value for the County over the long-term. The purchase of Verity, including new electronic touchscreen voting devices and Hart's innovative AutoBallot kit, will streamline the entire voting process. For voters, this means shorter lines and a more intuitive voting experience.

"With Hart's Verity system and AutoBallot, human errors at voter check-in will be eliminated," said Sands. "When voters arrive, a poll worker simply scans a barcode that automatically assigns the right ballot for that voter. And we'll be able to continue using our current electronic poll books with the new system, saving the cost of purchasing new ones."

Nueces County has almost 200,000 registered voters, and Commissioners wanted to keep the efficiencies provided by all-electronic voting. In addition, "Vote Centers are popular with voters, and with the new Verity system, we can continue offering voters that convenience," Sands said.

The County is currently using an earlier Hart voting system. With this upgrade, the County joins a growing number of jurisdictions acting now to prepare for important upcoming elections.

"We value Nueces County's continued trust in Hart," said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of election experience. "Verity is the perfect solution for meeting stakeholders' needs now and in the future. We are committed to making sure the County's adoption of their new system goes smoothly, and we look forward to successful elections in Nueces County for years to come. We think voters and poll workers will appreciate how easy it is to use the all-new Verity technology."

"Voters will love the user-friendly Verity touchscreen voting tablet," said Sands. "Voting will be like using their smartphones and iPads – simple and fast. The new system also has built-in features that make voting easy for everyone, including our voters with disabilities. And it's a quick process to take the tablet to voters who need curbside voting."

Voters can switch between ballot languages while they are voting, adjust the screen's contrast and font size and, if the voter is using the device's headphones, control the speed and the volume of the audio.

The lightweight, compact Verity Voting equipment is easy for poll workers to transport in everyday vehicles and set up in the most convenient arrangement at polling places.

"Poll workers will be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to set up the Verity equipment," said Sands. "They'll be able to open and close polls with only a few steps, and get home faster at the end of the day."

On election night, Verity enables officials to publish results faster, because poll workers close polls on all voting tablets at once and report consolidated totals in just one step – without having to collect votes from every device separately. With Verity, multiple voting devices are networked together and monitored from a single controller device, centralizing management of polling place devices.

The County's experience working with Hart since 2005 contributed to the decision to select Verity when they refreshed their election technology. "Trust is important in elections, and we know we can count on Hart to provide the products and service we need," said Sands.

Braithwaite expects more Texas announcements in the coming weeks.

Learn more about Verity in Texas: 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. Hart's mission fuels its 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. Only Hart offers a completely new, certified voting system with both electronic and paper options.

SOURCE Hart InterCivic, Inc.