Print & Proof Ballots
Print-ready ballots are automatically after loading an election definition. The number of ballot styles generated from the election definition is shown in the top-left and you may re-sort the list by either Precinct or Style using the buttons next to the Sort N ballots by: text.
To proof a particular ballot, click View Ballot button next to the desired ballot precinct and style to open the ballot details view.
The ballot details view presents a rendered ballot, exactly as it will print, for easy proofing and functionality to print ballots on-demand.
You need to select three options before printing a ballot:
OfficialorTestAbsenteeorPrecinctThe number of copies to print
Once selected, simply click Print [Number] [Mode] [Type] Ballot(s) to print your desired ballot(s). Election Manager prints 1 Official Absentee ballot by default.
Only Test ballots should be printed for proofing purposes. Please reference the section below for the differences between official and test ballots.
When using a black-and-white printer, Election Manager will remind you, before printing, to check that you've loaded the printer with the right paper – tinted paper for absentee, white paper for in-person.
Official ballots should only be printed for marking by voters. These ballots are denoted by Official Ballot in the top-left of the ballot and will be tabulated when the Ballot Scanner is in Live mode.
The number of official ballots printed are also presented in the all ballot view and a Printed Ballot Report can be generated at any time which includes the count of official ballots printed.
If any official ballots are printed for proofing, they should be marked as proofing-only and stored securely or destroyed after proofing so that they cannot be mistaken for valid ballots.
A Test ballot should be used for proofing purposes. Test ballots appear the same as an official ballot but are denoted by Test Ballot in the top-left of the ballot.
Test ballots will not be tabulated by default and are only read by the Ballot Scanner when in Test mode.
An Absentee ballot should be used for absentee voting and a Precinct ballot should be used for affidavit, curbside, and emergency ballots. Absentee and precinct ballots are the same with the exception of a label printed at the start and on every page footer for absentee ballots. With a color printer, the label is printed on purple background.
If you find any errors while proofing ballots, you may navigate to the Definition tab at the top of the screen to edit the election definition directly. This view presents summary metadata about the election and lists all contests.
To edit a contest, click the button corresponding to the Contest Name which will open the contest editing view.
Any changes made to contest or candidate data in this view are automatically saved and rendered in a preview on the right side of the screen.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to VotingWorks for help editing election definitions!
