VerityVerity Count Training Agenda

Estimated Time:4 hours

Audience:Verity Count Operators, Elections Officials.

Objectives: This course introduces the Verity Count application and takes the trainee through the steps for loading an election from Verity Build, settingpreferences, reading vDrives from voting devices and Verity Central, processing write-in votes, configuring and producing reports, and importing/exporting data.

Teaching Method: Teaching method is presentation, followed by demonstration and/or discussion. Attendees should be encouraged to allow everyone the opportunity to raise questions or discussion points. Some exercises may involve basic data entry.

Manuals: Verity Administrator’s Guide

Other Materials: Verity TrainingElection, including voted vDrives from Verity Voting devices and Verity Central, Verity Key for training election, PowerPoint slideshow.

Modules:7

Prerequisite: Hands-on demonstration with the polling place equipment/Polling Place Operations course.Management & Best Practices course encouraged.

Assessment: Intra-office Training Mock Election.

Benefits of Verity Count:

Efficiency and information management – Verity Count is designed to keep to support fast reporting of results on Election Night. With easy-to-use intuitive “dashboards,” there’s no need to sift through many reports to see your progress toward completion.

Customizable reporting – Verity Count provides attractive standard reports and intuitive tools to create new reports based on the data that you want. You have the power to decide when and how to display, combine, or group results, through an intuitive, friendly user interface.

Scalability – Verity Count can be configured to support client workstations to maximize the speed with which flash memory results can be read on Election Night.

Easy, efficient auditability – Verity Count has an integrated Auditing Dashboard with robust filters that allow you to access Cast Vote Records with great specificity, to support almost any kind of audit, according to your local procedures.

Module 1: Getting Started(Timing: 1 hour)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercise
  • Introduction: operations and documentation overview, system overview, benefits to trainees and course objectives, Hart Support contact information
  • Course Objectives
  • Benefits of Verity
  • Verity System Flowchart
  • System Overview
  • Verity Security Features, including Verity Key and passcode
  • Logging in to Verity
  • The Verity Home screen
  • The Desktop, Manage and Users Applications
  • Desktop
  • Setting system clock
  • Exporting hash files
  • Accessing the Windows OS
  • Manage
  • Actions button in Manage – available actions vary by workstation
  • Adding a New Election
  • Election naming convention best practices
  • Election Status
  • Users
  • Adding/Deleting Users and assigning roles
  • Password Guidelines
  • Audit Logs and System Logs
  • Disk and RAID icons
  • Verity Count Flowchart
  • Verity Count Overview of sequential steps
  • Importing a signed election from Build
  • Using the Help tab

Exercise 1.1: Open Manage and create users for the Count application. Delete unnecessary users, if needed.

Module 2: Activities in the Elections Tab(Timing: 20 minutes)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercises
  • Setting Preferences
  • Opening the Election
  • Creating Tasks
  • What is a Task?
  • Establishing naming conventions
  • Types of tasks (Official and Test)
  • Report labels

Exercise 2.1: Practice election archive procedures in Manage.

Exercise 2.2: Set election preferences in Count.

Exercise 2.3: Select and open training election as created in Verity Build.

Exercise 2.4: Create at least one task in the Tasks tab. Set the task type and report label as appropriate to the training and corresponding vDrives to be read. Set voting types and tabulation time for the first task created. Open a task.

Module 3: Activities in the Read Tab(Timing: 40minutes)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercises
  • Dashboard
  • Dashboard orientation
  • Starting and stopping tabulation
  • Current and previous vDrives
  • Accessing details from the Dashboard
  • Reading vDrives

Exercise 3.1:Read vDrives containing CVRs from Verity Central and/or Verity voting devices used in training into Count.

Exercise 3.2: Tabulate results on the Dashboard screen.

Module 4: Activities in the Resolve Tab(Timing: 30 minutes)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercises
  • Write-in Votes
  • Resolving deferred write-ins from Central
  • Resolving write-ins by contest from Central and Scan
  • Managing write-in candidates
  • Assigning write-in votes

Exercise 4.1:Resolve and assign all Write-in votes from tabulated vDrives.

Module 5: Activities in the Results Tab(Timing: 1 hour)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercises
  • Options
  • General settings
  • Reporting by precinct or precinct split
  • Labelling reports as Official or Unofficial
  • Including registered voters and setting the label
  • Including the number of precincts reporting or polling places reporting
  • Calculating the number of precincts reporting by voting type
  • Contests
  • Sorting contest order by number of votes or ballot order
  • Choosing reporting options for unassigned and rejected write-ins
  • Voting Types
  • Precinct Groups
  • Aliases
  • What are aliases?
  • When would you use them?
  • Viewing and printing reports
  • Audit Log and System Log reports
  • Creating custom reports and reporting runs
  • Precincts reporting
  • Setting reporting status by precinct
  • Printing the Precincts Reporting Status report
  • Polling Places reporting
  • Setting reporting status by polling place
  • Setting the number of expected vDrives
  • Printing the Polling Place Reporting Status report
  • Registered Voters
  • Adding registered voter numbers by precinct
  • Manual Vote Recording
  • Using the manual recording wizard
  • MVR with Write-Ins
  • Manual vote recording best practices
  • Auditing Dashboard
  • Adding Filters
  • Printing Reports
  • ExportingCVRs

Exercise 5.1:Set up reporting options in the Options tab. Work through each: General, Contests, Voting Types, Precinct Groups.

Exercise 5.2:Create at least two aliases in each of the following tabs: precincts, parties, voting types, contests, and choices.

Exercise 5.3: View and/or print one of each report, as appropriate.

Exercise 5.4: Manually adjust reporting the status of one precinct. View the Precincts Reporting Status report and compare.

Exercise 5.5: Manually adjust the status of one polling place to “Partially Reporting”. For another polling place, set the number of expected vDrives for that polling place and note any change to reporting status when reporting status is set to “Automatic”. View the Polling Places Reporting Status report.

Exercise 5.6: Create a custom cumulative report with aliases applied. View the custom report.

Exercise 5.7: Adjust the number of registered voters for two precincts. View adjustments in the cumulative report.

Exercise 5.8: In the Vote Recording menu, manually record two ballots using the Manual Vote Recording wizard. View the added records in the cumulative report.

Exercise 5.9: From the Auditing Dashboard, add two different filters (precinct and Ballot Content/Contests) and print report based on the applied filters. Export CVRs under the same filter settings.

Module 6: Activities in the Import/Export Tab(Timing: 15 minutes)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and exercise
  • Import
  • Registered Voters information
  • Certified Write-in Candidates
  • Export
  • Detailed Vote Totals
  • Registered Voters information

Exercise 6.1:Export Detailed Vote Totals. Name the export “DetailedVoteTotals.csv”.

Module 7: Review and Conclusion(Timing: 15 minutes)

  • Teaching Method for this Module:Presentation and discussion
  • Review:
  • Creating Tasks
  • Reading vDrives
  • Resolving Write-ins
  • Getting Results and Creating Reports
  • Importing and Exporting
  • Election Archival
  • Restoring elections
  • Q&A

Exercise 7.1:Discuss archival of election data and reloading elections in Manage.

Assessment

  • Performance Assessment: Verity Training Mock Election
  • Consult Mock Election Agenda
  • Conducted only after all training courses completed

After Class Responsibilities

  • Restore vDrives and prepare equipment for the next class.
  • File sign-in sheet in the envelope.
  • File evaluations in the envelope.
  • Pick up trash and tidy up room.
  • Set out materials for the next class.
  • Make certain equipment is secure.

/ Verity Count
Equipment List
Hardware / Item / Quantity / Ratio / Notes
Verity Count workstation and peripherals / 1:1 or 2 trainees / Will vary per implementation
Training election jump drive from Build / 1:workstation
Voted vDrives from devices / At least 2:workstation / For Training Election
Voted vDrives from Central / At least 2:workstation / If applicable (per implementation)
Reports Printer / 1:workstation
Line Printer for Count / 1 / If applicable
Blank jump drives for exports / 1:workstation
Verity Touch Writer / 1:class / As a demo, with Training election (optional)
Verity Touch Writer Booth / 1:class / As a demo, with Training election (optional)
Verity Touch Writer Ballot Printer / 1:class / As a demo, with Training election (optional)
Verity Scan / 1:class / As a demo, with Training election (optional)
Verity Scan Ballot Box / 1:class / As a demo, with Training election (optional)
vDrives / 1: demo voting device / Set up with Training Election
Verity Key / 1:workstation / Set up for Training Election
Power strip(s)/Surge protectors/extension cords / 1: workstation and 1 for presentation table
Presentation Laptop / 1
Documentation / Item / Quantity / Ratio / Notes
Verity Administrator’s Guide - Count / 1:1
Marked ballots / ~50-100 / Corresponding to voted vDrives, if possible
Ballot and Seal Certificates / 1:workstation / As samples
Verity Count Course Pack / 1:1
Sign-in Sheet / 1:class
Training Evaluation forms / 1:1
Nondisclosure agreements / 1:1
Miscellaneous
  • Miscellaneous
/ Item / Quantity / Ratio / Notes
Isopropyl wipes / 1 pack / If setting up demo devices
Pens / 1:1
Clipboards(s) / 1
Screwdriver(s) / 1 / If setting up demo devices
Laser Pointer / 1
LCD projector / 1
Presentation Screen / 1
Whiteboard or equivalent / 1
Security seals / 1:device / samples
Polling Place I.D. List / 1 / For training election
Software Passwords List / 1
Thermal paper rolls / 1:Device plus spares / If setting up demo devices
Ballot Box/Voting Device Keys / 1 full set: lab station and 1 for presentation / If setting up demo devices
Device battery charger / 1 / If setting up demo devices
Paper for report printer / 1 ream

Suggested Classroom Layout

VERITY COUNT TRAINING COURSE

Trainers: 1

Jurisdiction Personnel: 1

Trainees: 8 max or 2 per available computer max

Time allotted per session: 4 hours

Hart Responsibilities for materials/equipment on site (if class taught by Hart representative):
  • LCD projector (if not available on site)
  • laptop for presentation
  • training election jump drives, vDrives, Keys and ballots
  • blank jump drives for export
  • laser pointer
  • Sign-in Sheet, Evaluation forms and Nondisclosure agreements
  • Verity Count Course Pack

COUNTY/SITE IS RESPONSIBLEFOR ALL OTHER MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT

6661-007 A Verity_1.0_Course Pack_Count1