The Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) requests information about Ballot Duplication solutions to use in statewide elections. SBE currently provides web delivery ballots upon request, utilizing an online ballot delivery system developed in-house. This system provides all documents required for mail-in voting in an 8 ½” x 11” format. The voter has the ability to mark the ballot electronically, which, upon printing, fills in the selections for the voter. There is no QR code generated. During canvass, the ballot is duplicated on certified 17” ballot paper at each of the LBEs. A group of individuals then verify the ballot printed on certified paper matches the entries on the 8 ½” x 11” paper. The 17” ballots are scannable on ES&S DS200 and ES&S DS850 scanners. This process is currently a manual process performed by a bipartisan team. SBE is seeking information about solutions to automate this process. Maryland law allows for ballot duplication using either a unique barcode or through scanning and duplicating choices. While the preference is for scanning and duplicating method, barcode duplication methods will also be considered. As part of the planning phase, we would like to learn about available or planned solutions that provide the following elements critical to a successful Ballot Duplication operation: Efficiently and accurately replicate the voter’s selection from an 8 ½ x 11inch piece of paper onto a 17 inch ballot. Produce a ballot that is scannable by ES&S DS200 and DS850 scanners.
