COMPANY >> FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS



Q. How long has Printelect been in the elections business?
A. Formerly Owen G. Dunn Company, founded in 1902, in New Bern, North Carolina, Printelect has been in the election industry for over one hundred years. As the largest printer of optical scan ballots and one of the largest printers in the country, we currently furnish millions of ballots throughout the United States annually. As an authorized dealer for Election Systems and Software (ES&S) in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, we have extensive experience with optical scan and DRE technology. Printelect has installed and maintained the state-wide voting systems in both North Carolina and South Carolina and we are currently growing transactions throughout Virginia. Our corporate office is located in New Bern, North Carolina and our printing facility (formerly Fayetteville Printing and Office Supply) is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina.


Q. Is Printelect a full service elections provider?
A. Yes, Printelect currently furnishes election ballots nationwide. Additionally, Printelect has in-house graphics, coding, typesetting, and layout departments that allow us to not only create our own digital files, but produce electronic proofs for all our customers. We also perform maintenance on an array of electronic machines (see Election Services tab for more details).


Q. Can Printelect print ballots if I furnish the digital files?
A. Yes, if you prefer to create your own digital files or have a third party do so, you may submit the files for us to print, package and ship. However, we invite you to let us perform such services for you. We will show you why we are the best in the business.


Q. Does Printelect offer Voter Accessibility Products?
A. Yes, Printelect offers an extensive line of products that help municipalities comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. We offer signs, ramps, equipment storage solutions, pathway solutions, BallotCalls, precinct accessories and much more! We offer a free printed catalog and an online store for shopping convenience. Click on the E-Store tab to be redirected to our online store. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please contact us and we will help you find it.


Q. Does Printelect follow nationwide election regulations?
A. Yes, while election and disability laws are constantly being updated, Printelect works to keep our information and products up-to-date as well. Under the Voter Accessibility tab, you will find Resources and State Regulations information by state to help aid you in for information search. If you cannot find the information you are looking for or have a relevant site you think should be added, please contact us anytime.


Q. Does Printelect offer political signage or campaign products?
A. Yes, Printelect offers an extensive line of both political signage and campaign products. Though we do not have these on our website, please call our corporate office with any questions you may have.




Q. How long has ES&S been in the elections business?
A. ES&S is the industry leader in providing end-to-end integrated election solutions, and has had for over three decades a successful track record of producing quality results. Through the voting systems and software we develop and the services the company delivers, ES&S has become a trusted partner throughout the world. ES&S is the world's most experienced provider of total election management solutions, with over 170,000 systems installed worldwide and supporting more than 30,000 elections. In fact, ES&S systems have counted approximately 50 percent of the U.S. national vote in each of the last four presidential elections.


Q. What products and services does ES&S offer?
A. ES&S offers the election industry's only end-to-end voting solutions — including the Profile® family of voter registration and candidate filing software, Unity™ election management software, our various types of voting and tabulation equipment, and our iReport™ results reporting process. ES&S supports every facet of the democratic process — from registering to vote, to casting a vote, to tabulating votes cast, and reporting results on Election night. In fact, at ES&S, elections are all that we do. Our PowerProfile® voter registration and election management system supports voter registration programs at the state and/or local level. Capable of integrating fully with ES&S' tabulation products, the PowerProfile enables election officials to register voters, qualify candidates, and conduct elections with a single software solution.

And, when it comes to voting and tabulation equipment, our systems are unbeatable in terms of reliability, security, accuracy, and ease of use. The proven, patented ES&S iVotronic® touch screen system is the DRE (direct recording electronic) solution of choice in the election world today. Weighing just 14 pounds, the iVotronic is portable, multilingual, ADA-compliant, has an audio ballot feature for the visually impaired, and allows voters to securely and accurately cast their vote. Today, approximately 97,000 iVotronics have been installed in 21 states across the country, and more jurisdictions are considering moving toward this technology than ever before. These voting systems, which meet HAVA requirements for the disabled, help jurisdictions finalize vote counts faster than ever before, just hours after polls close.

The latest addition to the ES&S line of products is the ES&S AutoMARK, breakthrough ballot-marking technology that allows voters with disabilities and other special needs to mark an optical scan ballot privately and independently. The ES&S AutoMARK provides increased accessibility to voters who are visually impaired or otherwise unable to mark an optical scan ballot in the usual way. The ES&S AutoMARK also helps jurisdictions comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which requires that every polling place be equipped with at least one disability-accessible voting machine.

* AutoMARK is a trademark of AutoMARK Technical Systems, LLC


Q. Where is ES&S headquartered?
A. ES&S is the world's largest and most experienced provider of total election management solutions. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, with seven regional U.S. offices, locations in the United Kingdom and Canada, and agents in several international locations, these professionals offer comprehensive support and service … and it shows. Our 2003 customer survey revealed that more than 95 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with ES&S' ability to meet their election needs with the assistance provided by our customer service support staff.


Q. How many jurisdictions were served by ES&S in 2006?
A. ES&S partnered with nearly 1,700 jurisdictions in 43 states in the United States to meet the mandate of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). During the U.S. congressional election in November 2006, nearly 67 million voters cast ballots using ES&S voting systems.


Q. What are some of the advantages of the touch-screen iVotronic technology?
A. . The ES&S technology used today has never been more accurate, more reliable, more secure, or easier for voters to use. The ES&S touch screen technology used nationwide makes it easier than ever before for votes to be both cast and tabulated. And, this technology provides broader voting access to the disabled community through the audio ballot and other features. This technology also provides quick returns for election results.


Q. How does ES&S voting technology benefit voters with special needs?
A. ES&S is the industry leader in developing the latest voting technologies to meet the ever-changing needs of election administrators … and voters. ES&S voting systems are HAVA compliant, providing a number of new system advantages including multiple language capabilities and broader voting accessibility to the disabled population. For example, ES&S' iVotronic has an Audio Ballot feature, which enables any voter to be able to interact with their ballot in a totally secure and unassisted fashion. Using the Audio iVotronic provides the disabled voter all of the privacy and safeguards other voters have enjoyed. Voters in wheel chairs can be accommodated through special height booths, tabletop deployment, or laptop voting due to the lightweight and wireless operation of the system.


Q. What safeguards are in place to ensure security?
A. ES&S' voting solutions are secure, accurate, and reliable. ES&S strives for excellence, with an unrelenting commitment to delivering trouble-free elections and technology that improves participation in the democratic process. In fact, in our company's long history, ES&S has never had a security-related problem in any election. Our systems have been proven and validated through use in thousands of actual elections worldwide.

ES&S systems are designed with strict security in mind, and all are capable of producing documentation to provide the required audit trails, checks and balances. In addition to the technical standards that govern equipment used industry-wide, there are a number of unique security safeguards that set apart ES&S' technology from the rest, including the iVotronic's closed system and unique personal electronic ballot (PEB), which are not open to either wireless or wire-based systems, and do not allow Internet connections, direct phone line connections, or direct network connections; and the system's three physically independent memory chips that store electronic ballot data, which are verified against each other prior to allowing a vote or the casting of a vote to ensure no vote is allowed or cast if there is an error. And, of course, ES&S products are tested by an independent testing authority, certified to meet or exceed the standards of the U.S. Federal Election Commission.

In addition to these security safeguards, ES&S also works to ensure that election officials are highly trained and educated about the voting systems, and that they are vigilant about taking steps to help ensure overall election security. It is the combination of the security features built into the systems with election administrators using proven election processes — before, during, and after voting — that results in a secure and accurate election.


Q. Can you do a manual recount on the iVotronic?
A. The iVotronic allows for a printed and documented record of precinct-level election activity to verify results. If an election is ever contested, the iVotronic's unique, patented recount system allows replication of the entire election process, including production of all ballot images for re-verification. Beyond that, the iVotronic has three independent but redundant memory chips to ensure that no votes will ever be lost or altered. Accuracy of the system can be verified for each terminal through current electronic ballot records already stored within the terminals and with random audits of polling locations.


Q. What is the company's position on paper receipts?
A. Consistent with our very strong history in innovating new technology to our clients' needs, ES&S has assumed a leadership position in this discussion by developing a prototype voter verifiable paper receipt function for our iVotronic devices. There are many issues surrounding the question of paper receipts and policymakers are considering the pros and cons of moving forward with a paper receipt requirement. As policymakers choose a direction, we will be in a position to turn our prototype into market-ready technology.


Q. What does the future hold for elections technology?
A. In addition to meeting today's election management needs, ES&S is firmly focused on anticipating and realizing the vision of the election of the future. Given the increasing sophistication of our technological capabilities, it is very likely that voters may some day cast their ballots from the comfort of their home, or from "virtual polling places" located throughout their communities. In this future world of elections, access is so greatly enhanced that everybody gets to vote and election administrators manage the process remotely. Far out? Not really. And, ES&S has already developed a framework to support the promise of "anywhere voting" in elections to come. Called "Anywhere Voting Architecture (AVA),"this innovation provides a solution for today's election challenges … and the potential to propel the voting process to a new level in the future.