Central Scanning
Note: the following steps must be completed by the Election Manager.
Last updated
Note: the following steps must be completed by the Election Manager.
Last updated
VxCentralScan is a central scanning solution that allows you to quickly scan large batches of ballots. If you are using VxScan at your precincts, you can use VxCentralScan to scan mail, provisional, military ballots, or other ballots counted post-election day. If you are not using VxScan at your precincts, then you'll use VxCentralScan to scan all ballots.
Follow the instructions to prepare the system for use.
Before scanning the first ballot batch, confirm that VxCentralScan displays No ballots have been scanned. If not, go to the Admin menu and select Delete Ballot Data to clear the scanner.
Load a stack of ballots into the feeder tray of the scanner. VotingWorks recommends loading no more than 50 ballot sheets at time. The ballots need to be in a neat stack, unfolded and lying flat, but ballots can be in any orientation (e.g. upside down or backwards is fine).
Select Scan New Batch. Ballots feed through the scanner automatically and the number of ballots scanned will increase as each ballot is scanned under Ballot Count. A timestamp will appear under the Finished At header when a batch is done scanning.
Once the batch finishes scanning, remove it from the output tray on the scanner and place the next stack of ballots in the feeder tray. Repeat the scanning process until all ballots are scanned.
Note: If a batch needs to be rescanned, use the Delete button to remove the original scan.
VxCentralScan will stop scanning and present a review screen if scanning cannot be completed due to a blank sheet, overvoted or undervoted contest, scan mode mismatch, or an otherwise unreadable ballot sheet. The review screen will display an image of the scanned ballot sheet, the reason why scanning was stopped, and confirm that this ballot sheet has not been tabulated yet.
If scanning an original voter-marked ballot, when the scanner stops, remove the last ballot sheet scanned from the scanner output tray and confirm it matches the ballot sheet displayed onscreen. Once removed, follow review requirements. If the ballot needs to be reviewed by someone not operating the scanner or needs to be duplicated to be tabulated properly, select Remove to Adjudicate and confirm that the Ballot has been removed. Once confirmed, the scanner will resume scanning ballots in the batch. If the person(s) operating the scanner have the authority to review the ballot and no changes are required to tabulate correctly, select Tabulate As Is.
The example below shows an Overvote detected that is being removed for review.
The example below shows a Blank Ballot.
The example below shows an Undervote Ballot.
VxCentralScan may show an Unreadable ballot screen for a properly marked ballot if it's unable to decode ballot information due to page skew, dust, or tampering of the ballot. When a ballot sheet is shown as unreadable, you can safely remove the ballot and re-scan the ballot sheet. If the ballot is unreadable on a second scan, you should remove the ballot for duplication.
A mode mismatch error will appear if the scanner mode (Test or Official) does not match the ballot type (Test or Official) and the scanned sheet will not be tabulated. In these cases, you should either remove the ballot from the stack or switch scanner modes.
The example below shows a Live ballot that was scanned in Test mode.
When all ballot batches (including any duplicated ballots) have been scanned, you will need to save the CVRs from VxCentralScan to load into VxAdmin for tabulation.
To save, select Save CVRs in the top right.
You'll be prompted to insert a USB drive. Once recognized, select Save and then Eject USB.
You don't need to worry about filenames. The save process takes care of that.
Once you've selected Eject USB, you'll see a prompt to Close and may remove the USB drive.
If using multiple VxCentralScan stations, repeat for each one.
After saving the CVR, VotingWorks recommends also taking a backup of all data from the VxCentralScan station. To save a backup, navigate to the Admin menu and select Save Backup. Then navigate to the USB drive in the file dialog and save the backup .zip file. The file may take up to a few minutes to save.
Once saved, select Eject USB and remove the USB drive from VxCentralScan.
Note: Tabulated ballots should be sealed into a secure container post-tabulation with the seal number recorded as required. Follow state guidelines to ensure proper retention.
