Special to Clay Today
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Many Clay County residents recently got a chance to see new voting equipment that will make its debut next year.
The Clay County Supervisor of Elections Office gave the public a chance to demonstrate the newly purchased DS200 voting equipment at Green Cove Springs Memorial Day Riverfest.
Eighty DS200s, which will make their first appearance in the 2010 general election, were recently purchased by the Board of County Commissioners. The DS200 will replace the currently used Eagle Optical Scan after its manufacturer announced it will no longer offer hardware and software support.
The DS200 model is still optical scan and will use a ballot that requires filling in an oval as opposed to the previous method of connecting an arrow. The bubbles can be filled with a No. 2 pencil or any type of ink except red, unlike the Eagle Optical Scan which required a special marker.
The DS200, which features a full color touch screen, also gives the voter more control by alerting them to problems, such as under- or over-voting, and letting them choose whether to accept or return the ballot.
Visitors to the Elections Office festival booth could try out the DS200, register to vote or update their voter registration.
More demonstrations of the DS200 are planned before the 2010 general election, the Supervisor of Elections Office said.
June 2nd 2009 - 3:28PM