Proposal To Fix Some ATV Problems

Last Updated:   11/16/23  16:45

The following is a proposed modification to several parts of Section A of the primary ATV, at least the ATV that was used in the 2022 primary election. In several past postmortems, e.g., https://jgkhome.name/WakeBOE/Postmortem_2022-07-26.txt, "Forms" section, item #2, I listed some problems with primary ATVs and proposed solutions, but got no feedback. Maybe there is a new primary ATV that is better; if so, I haven't seen it yet. By creating an HTML mockup, I have tried to make my proposed changes more visual. I also have addressed some problems that the new NC photo ID requirement has introduced. In the mockup below, I highlighted the things I changed in gray (the ballot selection section) or cyan (all the other changes).

  • I moved the Unaffiliated ballot selection piece well away from the area voters write in (the signature section). The ballot selection piece is supposed to be marked only by RT Officials, not voters. Yet often affiliated voters were marking a party, which we had to ignore. I placed the ballot selection section above the certification section, hopefully less in marking reach of the voters, but highlighted it in gray since the Unaffiliated voters need to review it as part of the certification.
  • As part of that movement, I reworded the last checkbox, which had very confusing wording for all voters as it mixed affiliated and unaffiliated operations in the same sentence.
  • I X-marked all the boxes in the certification section. The old ATV did not X the last box.
  • I updated the felony bullet words to those used in the 2023 election.
  • In the Help Table section, I changed "reason" to "reason(s)".
  • In the Help Table section, I split the "No ID (if ID Required)" checkbox into two checkboxes:
    1. "No photo ID  (this is ONLY for the NC-required photo ID check)"
    2. ""ID" on label (but no ID)"
  • I added some text to clarify where the voter should look when certifying registration, i.e., the label or Section C, to be consistent with the first bullet, which had already mentioned Section C (but just used "above" for the label). I also reworded the first bullet to make it a little easier to read.
  • In the 2023 election we saw several mistakes made by both voters and Officials in which they confused the HAVA photo ID processing and the new NC-required photo ID processing, causing the HAVA photo ID box to be marked erroneously. I reworded the intros to both the HAVA ID section and the Help Table reasons section to try to reduce such mistakes.
  • In the Help Table reasons section, I added a "No photo ID" checkbox and explanation for the NC-required photo ID to further address the HAVA vs NC-required photo ID confusion. There needs to be good, official terms to distinguish these two types of photo ID checks, which are not the same. Then the ATV (and many other places) should use those terms.
Jeff Knauth

If "ID" is on label (HAVA ID required) and the voter presents a valid ID, mark below the type of ID presented:

Photo ID Government Check
Bank Statement Paycheck
Utility Bill Other Government Document

If sending the voter to the Help Table, select reason(s):

No photo ID  (this is ONLY for the NC-required photo ID check)
"ID" on label (but no ID) "V" on label (Verify Address)
Party dispute Address on label is wrong
Jurisdiction dispute Name on label is wrong
"A" on label (Absentee) Other: ___________

For partisan primary elections ONLY, if voter is Unaffiliated, the Official checks box for the party selected by the voter:

I certify that:

X

_______________________________________________________
Voter Signature

____________
Official's Initials