Marksense
- (Optical Scan)
Marksense
systems employ a ballot card on which candidates and
issue choices are preprinted next to an empty rectangle,
circle, oval, or an incomplete arrow. Voters record their
choices by filling in the rectangle, circle or oval,
or by completing the arrow.
After
voting, the voters either place the ballot in a sealed
box or feed it into a computer tabulating device at the
precinct. The tabulating device reads the votes using "dark
mark logic," whereby the computer selects the darkest
mark within a given set as the correct choice or vote.
Marksense
technology has existed for decades and been used extensively
in such areas as standardized testing and statewide lotteries.
Although
marksense systems are often referred to as "optical
scan," marksense technology is only one of several
methods for recognizing marks on paper through optical
reading techniques.
Marksense
systems were used by 24.6% of registered voters in the
United States for the 1996 Presidential election, and
their use is on the rise.
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