Danaher/Guardian Shouptronic 1242

Name/Model: Shouptronic (aka ELECTronic) 1242
Vendor: Danaher Controls, Inc./Guardian Voting Systems
Voter-Verifiable Paper Trail Capability: None
Voting System Demo Video (Delaware Election Commission)

Click Here for Instructions on How to Vote on the Danaher Shouptronic 1242

Used in all Delaware counties, some counties in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky

Brief Description: The Danaher ELECTronic 1242 is a poll worker-activated full-face direct recording electronic voting system. Voters press the front of a mounted ballot (see rightmost image above) underneath which a touch-sensitive matrix of switches records choices. Poll workers activate the machine using an operator panel on the back of the machine to choose the ballot style and voters make choices by touching a numbered box next to their choice. When cast, voting records are recorded internally to eight memory locations: three banks of battery-powered RAM, three banks of EEPROM memory, one bank of EPROM memory and a removable memory cartridge, which contains both EPROM and EEPROM memory. When polls are closed, poll workers remove the memory cartridge that contains the vote records from each machine. These cartridges are then either physically transported to a tabulation facility or their contents transmitted over modem using a cartridge reading device.

Detailed Voting Process: When voters enter the precinct, poll workers confirm that they are properly registered to vote. The poll worker uses an operator’s panel on the back of the machine to choose the ballot style appropriate for that voter. The voter enters the curtains (see pictures at left above) and only the races for which they are permitted to vote are activated. The voter then votes by pressing a numbered box beside each choice in each race on the ballot. Flashing lights on the left-hand side of the ballot indicate races for which the voter has not yet voted. If the voter tries to choose more than one choice in a given race (over-voting), the machine will ignore the second choice. If the voter makes a mistake, they can press the numbered box again to deselect their choice; the indicator light will go out. The voter may then select the correct choice.

When done voting, the voter presses a large green “Vote” button in the lower-right corner of the voting machine. It is very important that the voter does not push the vote-casting button until they are done voting; a vote inadvertently cast may not be redone. Once cast, the vote is recorded internally to eight internal memory locations: three banks of battery-powered RAM that reside on the machine’s central processor, two internal banks of EEPROM memory, one bank of EPROM memory and a removable memory cartridge, which contains one bank of EPROM and one bank of EEPROM memory. The vote records are stored in “vote tables” as aggregate vote tallies and also as ballot images both internally and to the removable memory cartridge.

When the polls close, the machines print out paper copies of the results and poll workers remove their memory cartridges, which contain the vote records from each machine. At this point, the cartridges are physically transported to a tabulation facility. At the tabulation facility, election officials use a cartridge reader to read the data off of the cartridges and into vote tabulation databases. The results are then combined to produce an aggregate vote tally. The printed total tapes and memory cartridges can then become part of the official record of the election.

Reports
“Review Physical and Operational Security of the Danaher Controls 1242 Electronic Voting Machine” New Castle County DE (2004)

Analysis of a Danaher / Shouptronic 1242 Electronic Voting Machine, Lehigh University (2008)