Systems and methods for remaking ballots

Abstract

Voter-generated ballots created using consumer-grade printers are remade to ballots scannable by specialized ballot scanners. The voter-generated ballots include a machine-readable indicia, such as a two-dimensional barcode, that encodes ballot information. The ballot information includes choices made by the voter and information for use in remaking the ballot. Voters wish to submit their votes using printouts from non-specialized printers such as those found at their homes or offices; yet election officials wish to tabulate votes using scanners that require specialized, high-quality ballots. The disclosed systems and methods bridge this gap.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for remaking ballots, the method comprising:
 receiving a voter-generated physical ballot including a machine-readable indicia that encodes an indication of choices of a voter;   scanning the voter-generated physical ballot;   decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia to determine the choices of the voter; and   printing a remade ballot including indications of the choices of the voter, the remade ballot being readable by a ballot scanner.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter-generated physical ballot is printed on plain paper. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter-generated physical ballot is received by way of a postal service. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable indicia is a barcode. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable indicia further encodes information about formatting of the remade ballot. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter-generated physical ballot further includes a human-readable representation of the choices of the voter. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising comparing the human-readable representation of the choices of the voter to the decoded choices of the votes. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising tagging the voter-generated physical ballot for manual processing when a discrepancy is found in the comparison of the human-readable representation of the choices of the voter and the decoded choices of the votes. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of choices of a voter encoded in the machine-readable indicia includes a session identifier. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia into the choices of the voter comprises looking up the choices of the voter corresponding to a decoded session identifier decoded from the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising tracking the voter's ballot submission as having been received based on decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         12 . A method for tabulating ballots, the method comprising:
 receiving a voter-generated physical ballot including a machine-readable indicia that encodes an indication of choices of a voter;   scanning the voter-generated ballot;   decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia into the choices of the voter; and   tabulating the decoded choices of the voter.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the voter-generated physical ballot is printed on plain paper. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the voter-generated physical ballot is received by way of a postal service. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the machine-readable indicia is a barcode. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the voter-generated ballot further includes a human-readable representation of the choices of the voter. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising comparing the human-readable representation of the choices of the voter to the decoded choices of the votes. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising tagging the voter-generated ballot for manual processing when a discrepancy is found in the comparison of the human-readable representation of the choices of the voter and the decoded choices of the votes. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the indication of choices of a voter encoded in the machine-readable indicia includes a session identifier. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia into the choices of the voter comprises looking up the choices of the voter corresponding to a decoded session identifier decoded from the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising tracking the voter's ballot submission as having been received based on decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         22 . A method for processing ballots, the method comprising:
 supplying an electronic ballot from an election server to a client device for use by a voter, the electronic ballot comprising information regarding one or more contests;   receiving selections of choices for the contests from the voter;   transferring an indication of the selected choices for the contests to an election office; and   printing a remade ballot including indications of the choices of the voter, the remade ballot being readable by a ballot scanner.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein transferring the indication of the selected contest choices to the election office comprises reading a machine-readable indicia from the client device. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the machine-readable indicia is a barcode. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the indication of the selected contest choices includes a session identifier. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein printing the remade ballot comprises looking up the choices of the voter corresponding to a decoded session identifier decoded from the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising tracking the voter's ballot submission as having been received based on decoding the scanned machine-readable indicia. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising storing the indication of the selected contest choices on a second device, and wherein transferring the indication of the selected contest choices to the election office comprises reading the indication from the second device. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the indication of the selected contest choices are transferred to the election office electronically.