Clerk and Dominion show a ballot‑marking device option that keeps paper ballots

Dominion Voting Systems and county election staff presented a demonstration of a proposed update to the county’s in‑precinct voting equipment. The system would replace the current VVPAT setup with an on‑demand ballot marking printer (BMD printer) attached to the existing ICX tabulator and use ICP‑2 tabulators for final count.

How it works: Voters mark selections on the tabulator’s interface and, when ready, press “print ballot.” The BMD prints a full‑face paper ballot (no QR code) that the voter can verify visually. The voter then deposits the printed ballot into an on‑precinct ICP‑2 tabulator; the ICP‑2 creates an SD card tally for central count. The county clerk emphasized the system keeps a paper ballot record (retained for 22 months) while reducing manual adjudication because printed ovals are both human‑ and machine‑readable.

Security and contingencies: Dominion representatives said the devices are offline, not Internet‑connected, and that each tabulator stores results on an SD card which is read at central count. Staff explained contingency procedures if a tabulator fails — ballots can be collected and held for later tabulation; vendor support is available for on‑site troubleshooting. The clerk said the county would keep paper ballots secured for the retention period required by law.

Next steps: Dominion will maintain equipment on display near the clerk’s office for a short period and the county clerk will coordinate operational testing and training; the board discussed ensuring redundancies and written procedures for contingency handling.