Election voting system using printed vote records
View Patent ↗An election voting system is provided. The election voting system includes a printer for accepting printer medium. In one embodiment, the printer medium may be a paper printer medium. The printer medium includes mark(s) positioned on the printer medium that may be utilized to determine whether the printer medium is inserted into the printer in the proper orientation. The election voting system may include a sensor that identifies the presence of the mark. Two marks are positioned so that the orientation of the paper (right side up versus upside down) can be determined. In addition, in one embodiment, the marks are positioned so that even if the printer medium is rotated 180 degrees, orientation as to which side is up may be detected.
1. A method for printing a voter's selections in an election, comprising:
providing an election voting device the election voting device configured to allow a voter to make the voter's selections, wherein the election voting device includes a printer;
detecting a proper insertion of a valid election printer medium;
detecting the orientation of a print side or a back side of the election printer medium, wherein the detection of the orientation is independent of a 180 degree rotation of the election printer medium such that printing of the voter's selections is not dependent upon the 180 degree rotation of the election printer medium; and
proceeding with a voting process if the orientation of the print side or the back side of the election printer medium is detected as being correct, the proceeding with the voting process occurring independent of a 180 degree rotation of the election printer medium, and halting the voting process if the orientation of the print side or the back side of the election printer medium is detected as not being correct.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein printing of a voter's selections occurs after the orientation is detected as being correct.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
after detecting the orientation of the print side or the back side of the election printer medium, presenting voting options to the voter if the orientation is detected as being correct; and
printing the voter's selections on the printer medium.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
after detecting the orientation of the print side or the back side of the election printer medium, presenting voting options to the voter if the orientation is detected as being correct; and
printing the voter's selections on the printer medium.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the printer medium comprises at least one orientation mark.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one orientation mark allows for distinguishing between the print side and the back side of the printer medium.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least one orientation mark comprises at least two orientation marks, the at least two orientation marks being on a first side of the printer medium.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a first orientation mark being located on the first side of the printer medium at a first end of the printer medium and a second orientation mark being located on the first side of the printer medium at a second end of the printer medium.
9. The method of claim 8 , the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being located diagonally across the printer medium.
10. The method of claim 9 , the location of the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being diagonally symmetrical.
11. The method of claim 10 , the printer medium being a thermal printer medium.
12. The method of claim 1 , the printer medium being a thermal printer medium.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising at least a first orientation mark and a second orientation mark, the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being on a first side of the thermal printer medium and allowing for distinguishing between the print side and the back side of the thermal printer medium.
14. The method of claim 13 , the first orientation mark being at a first end of the thermal printer medium and the second orientation mark being at a second end of the thermal printer medium, the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark be located diagonally across the thermal printer medium.
15. An election printer medium configured to be used for printing vote records in an election voting system, comprising:
a print side of the election printer medium, the print side of the election printer medium configured to have a region on which a printed vote record of an election voting system may be provided;
a back side of the election printer medium, the back side opposing the print side;
a first orientation mark, the first orientation mark being located on a first side, the first side being one of the print side or back side; and
a second orientation mark, the second orientation mark being located on the first side,
wherein the first orientation mark is located at a first end of the election printer medium and the second orientation mark is located at a second end of the election printer medium,
wherein the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark provide optical contrast from other portions of the election printer medium such that optical detection of the first orientation mark and second orientation mark may be detected before the printer prints on the election printer medium, and
wherein a second side of the printer medium has no orientation marks.
16. The election printer medium of claim 15 , the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being located diagonally across the election printer medium.
17. The election printer medium of claim 16 , the location of the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being diagonally symmetrical.
18. An election voting system, comprising:
an election voting device, the election voting device including at least a display;
a printer, the printer coupled to the election voting device so that printed vote records may be printed from the print based on voting at the election voting device;
an election printer medium, the election printer medium comprising:
a print side of the election printer medium;
a back side of the election printer medium, the back side opposing the print side;
a first orientation mark, the first orientation mark being located on a first side, the first side being one of the print side or back side; and
a second orientation mark, the second orientation mark being located on the first side,
wherein the first orientation mark is located at a first end of the election printer medium and the second orientation mark is located at a second end of the election printer medium,
wherein the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark provide optical contrast from other portions of the election printer medium such that optical detection of the first orientation mark and second orientation mark may be detected before the printer prints on the election printer medium,
wherein a second side of the printer medium has no orientation marks; and
an optical sensor, the optical sensor located at an entrance to the printer, the election voting device controlling an election process flow based at least in part upon detection by the optical sensor of at least one of the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark,
wherein the election voting system is configured so that the optical sensor need only scan one of (a) the first end of the election printer medium or (b) the second end of the election printer medium, the scan detecting the orientation of the print side or the back side of the election printer medium, wherein the detecting of the print side or the back side is independent of a 180 degree rotation of the election printer medium.
19. The election voting system of claim 18 , the first orientation mark and the second orientation mark being located diagonally across the election printer medium.
20. The election voting system of claim 19 , the election printer medium being formed of thermal paper.