Next Tuesday, Lycoming County will be voting for several local offices, as well as for retention for a few state and county state judges. There will be some serious changes when you walk into your voting precinct location next week.

What has not changed is that some identification must be shown. This is to verify voter registration. This is especially important for first-time voters in new precincts. Acceptable ID could be a driver’s license but could be any identification such as a registration card, utility bill, firearm permit, etc. It does not need to have a photograph.

But instead of going to a voting machine, the voter will be given a paper ballot. This is part of the new ClearVote system, which consists of the ClearCast ballot scanner. Here is how it will work. The voter will take their ballot and clearly circle their choices. If a mistake is made, the ballot should be returned to the poll workers, and a new ballot will be given. A mistake could be voting for too many candidates. Each of the sections is clearly marked for what office is being voted for, and in parenthesis, there is a notation on how many votes can be made in that category. For example, it might be somewhat confusing that there are three open county commissioners positions, but the voter is only allowed to vote for two. But it does not need to be complicated, just follow the directions.

When the voter has completed their ballot, they will insert it into a ClearCast ballot scanner, which will process it and then show on the screen that the ballot was accepted. As noted above, the voter will be notified by the scanner if they made a mistake and will then have to fill out a new ballot if they want to rectify their mistake. If they do not wish to bother (which means the votes in that section will not be counted), they simply hit “submit,” which will then return the response, “Your ballot was cast.”

The paper ballot passes through the scanner and goes into a sealed case that will serve as a check to the electronic process. In the event of any question about the vote count, there is now a “paper trail” for verification.

The ClearVote system also consists of a ClearAccess Ballot-Marking Device for those with disabilities to privately mark their ballot without assistance. They can use headphones, which will talk them through the choices and have options for input, which could be from the screen, keypad, or sip & puff. A tactile keypad is also available, which is very simple to use. When the voter is done, a printout will be made, which is exactly like the manually filled out ones would look like. The voter would then process it the same way through the ClearCast ballot scanner.
To see videos of these new systems, go to the county’s website, lyco.org, and under “departments,” go to the last listing, “Voter Services.” On that page, there is a picture representing the “Lycoming County’s New Voting System” with short, helpful videos.

This new system does bring something of a wrinkle for write-in candidates. Some candidates had planned to offer stickers of their names to be used on the paper ballot. Though there is nothing that forbids the use of the stickers, the ballot states at the top, “it is preferred that you print the candidate’s name because stickers or labels may damage the scanner.” This is not expected to happen, of course, but as this is the first time these are being used, no one knows exactly what is going to happen. So, better to be safe than sorry, so please simply write in the name that is on the sticker if you wish to make a write-in.

One last thought for those who prefer the easy route and simply make one circle in the “Straight Party Column” block. History shows that a very large percentage of voters choose this option. But for those who have been regular readers of this column, it is hoped that an informed choice may actually cross party lines. Remember that the polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. Voters who are in line before the polls close at 8:00 p.m. are still permitted to vote. See you at the polls! Larry Stout welcomes your comments or input. He can be reached by email: lionwebbweekly@gmail.com.