How are the votes counted?
Clay County voters use an optical voting machine. Once the voter has been determined eligible to vote and signs the roster at their designated polling precinct the election judges will hand them a paper ballot. The voter then takes that ballot into the voting booth. A pencil should be located in the booth. The voter then colors in the ovals next to the candidates and yes/no issues of their choice. Once the voter completes voting the ballot he/she places the ballot in the optical scan ballot tabulator (Accu-vote machine). The machine will accept the ballot unless the voter has voted for more than the allowable number of candidates in any race or issue. If this occurs the machine will return the ballot for correction, the voter must take the ballot to an election judge and will be given a new ballot to correct. When the machine accepts the ballot, the vote is recorded internally on a memory card. After the polls close, the election judges plug the machine into a phone line and the result
