Inspire™ Vote-by-Phone - Description

The Inspire Vote-by-Phone System is a paper ballot marking system where voters use a standard touch-tone telephone (located at the polling site) to choose candidates or to answer ballot questions. The resulting ballots are either printed at a secure central location (Central Print) or via a fax at the polling site (Fax Print), depending on the configuration purchased. The ballots are subsequently hand-counted according to locally established procedure.

Central Print vs Fax Print - How They Differ

Central Print Option ballots are printed at a secure central location, usually monitored by state election officials.  The ballots are printed with a cover page in order to protect voter privacy.  Ballots are printed with a machine-readable bar code that is read by the system and the ballot is read back to the voter prior to their vote being cast.

Fax Print Option produces the resulting paper ballot at the polling site instead of in the central office.  The voter can then verify their ballot is correct prior to casting it in the ballot box.

Inspire™ Vote-by-Phone - How It Works

Inspire™ Vote-by-Phone allows the voters to cast their ballots using a regular telephone. All phone calls are answered by a fault-tolerant computer system located at a secure location controlled by authorized election officials.  The system produces a voter-verified paper ballot for every vote cast and can be monitored by independent or bipartisan observers.

Initiating a Voting Session

The voter goes to his/her polling site and signs in as usual. A poll worker uses a designated telephone to call the system, enters the Poll Worker ID and a Ballot Access ID to bring up the appropriate ballot, then gives the phone to the voter and leaves the voting booth for the voter to complete the voting experience. 

Casting the ballot

To cast their ballots, the voters listen to the audio instructions on the phone and use the telephone keypad to make selections, one contest at a time.  The voters may choose to skip any contest they are not interested in, or skip the remaining of the ballot at anytime.  Once reaching the end of the ballot, the voter will be informed of any undervoted contests and given the opportunity to review and revote all contests or only the undervoted contest prior to casting their ballot.

Printing and Verifying the Paper Ballots

After a voter makes ballot selections, the system prints out a paper ballot that is both human- and machine-readable. With Central Print Option the paper ballot is automatically scanned and played back to the voter for verification prior to the ballot printing at the Central location.  With Fax Print Option, the voter will wait while his/her ballot is faxed back to them, verify it's accuracy prior to casting their ballot in the ballot box.  As such, all voters, including those who are blind or incapable of handling paper, have the same opportunity to verify the printed record of their votes.

Securing the System

To maintain a high level of security and integrity for the election, the system makes no use of the internet or any other data network.  The only input from the outside world are DTMF tones, the distinct sounds generated by the telephone when its buttons are pressed.  This, thus, provides no means for anyone to hack into the system.

Broadcasting the Results (optional)

Many election officials consider it desirable to post the results at each polling location after the polls are closed. It may even be the law in some states. Inspire fully supports this requirement by automatically faxing the results of each precinct to its polling location. If the polling location is a firehouse, a school, or a church, a fax machine may already exist nearby to receive the fax. Otherwise, many simple fax machines are commercially available.