TEVSystems

Developers of Ballot Browser

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Ballot Browser? Ballot Browser is a free, open-source software program created by TEVSystems. Ballots can be scanned using an office scanner and Ballot Browser tabulates results from the images. Ballot Browser can project the images as it counts them, allowing observers to confirm that the ballots are being counted properly.
• Has Ballot Browser been used before? Ballot Browser has now been used in two elections in Humboldt County, CA, the June 2008 primary and the November 2008 Presidential Election. In the November election, it caught a Diebold calculation error in the officially certified results.
• Does it work? Yes. The program helped discover 197 ballots that had been dropped from the officially certified result in Humboldt County's November 2008 Presidential election.
• How much does it cost? The basic software is free. TEVSystems sells turnkey solutions based on the software, and offers fee-based service and support.
• Can I get support? Licensed versions, complete with professional training and support, can be purchased from TEVSystems.
• Do you have any newer software? Yes. We are currently in the final stages of developing our next generation, as yet unnamed software. This software, which we will use in Humboldt during the June 2010 secondary count, does not require customization for each election.
• Is the newer software available? The newer software will be offered for download after June 2010, assuming all goes well. If you are a programmer and would like to get a snapshot, contact Mitch at mjtrac@gmail.com.
• Is the newer software open source? Yes. Everything TEVSystems produces is open source.
• How long does the scanning take? The scanner used in Humboldt costs about $25,000 and can theoretically handle at least 5,000 ballots per hour. Because of the time involved in loading and unloading ballots, the actual throughput is substantially lower. The scanners that we include in our turnkey solutions are slower and smaller, theoretically handling between 1,500 and 2,500 letter or legal sized ballots per minute.
• What about ballots from machines for disabled voters? In Humboldt County, very few votes are cast on machines. For each such vote, election staff prepare a paper ballot and scan it, so that it is counted with all the rest.
• Does Ballot Browser work on Windows? Yes.
• Does the newer software work on Windows? No, not without modification.
• Does Ballot Browser work on Linux? Yes.
• Does the newer software work on Linux? Of course.
• Does Ballot Browser work on Mac OS X? It has not yet been tested on OS X, but there is no reason it should not work on OS X.
• And the newer software? No, not without modification.
• Can your systems be used for non-governmental elections? With minor modifications by us (or by a programmer of your choice), our programs can be modified to work with any "reasonable" ballot designs. Typically, modifications should cost less than $5,000.
• Have you done this with government assistance? No, neither TEVSystems nor the Humboldt County Election Transparency Project has received any government funding for development.
• Have you been supported by any election integrity organizations? Other non-profits? No, Neither TEVSystems nor the Humboldt County Election Transparency Project has received any funding from any non-profit organization. (We wouldn't say no.)