WHEATON, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Christmas came early at the DuPage County Clerk’s Office: new voting equipment has arrived.
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said Christmas came early as her office began unboxing a brand new voting system.
The Hart InterCivic Verity paper voting system featuring 100 percent paper ballots, providing more secure, transparent, and user-friendly voting. Kaczmarek said it also saves the county money by printing only the ballots needed by voters so there's no waste.
The system is scheduled to be in place for the 2022 Primary election.
“Our office couldn’t be more excited about new voting machinery if it were delivered by reindeer pulling a sleigh. Some of the staff opening the boxes were young children when the previous equipment was purchased 20 years ago,” County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said in a statement. “We’re anxious to share the next generation of equipment with voters and election judges in 2022.”
The new system makes DuPage County the first in Illinois to use complete on-demand ballot printing for both Early Voting and Election Day voting.
Most importantly, Kaczmarek said, the new equipment will ensure all voters have the same voting experience; there is no different size or shape of ballot for voters with disabilities. Everyone will be treated equally.
Additionally, Verity is never connected to the internet, making it impossible to hack. Kaczmarek said the Verity Scan allows reliable audits of voter intent with digital captures of all scanned ballots. The system offers automatic counting for write-in votes, ranked choice voting capability, faster and reliable recounts and multiple language options.
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