It was the public test for the next election. This will be the first time we use the new tabulator machine. It looked so easy when the instructor went over it last year, both Barb & I had watched on-line videos of the setup ahead of time, and there was a step by step instruction book. Even w/ all of that we had to call their hotline three times. First call was to find out how to open the slot covers where this election's programmed cartridges insert. Once the hotline told us which way to push/pull tabs it was easy(er) and I made a note in the instruction book. Second call was for a startup error on the screen about missing a printer cartridge . Nothing in the manual about how to fix error messages. Turns out while the instructions included how to plug in the optional accessible handheld keyboard, they did not say anything about checking for it's ink cartridge. An ink cartridge came w/ the machine but had not been installed. Third call was when we went to zero out the count on the machine at shutdown. We put in the password that had been printed on a slip of paper for this machine and that we had been using for the rest of the functions but that one wouldn't work. Turns out it is a different password for shutdown which hadn't been printed. Took us two hours but we got through the setup, the test (we tested the functionality for handicapped voters, putting through invalid ballots, write-ins and, as usual, voted at least once for everyone running), and the shutdown. The new machine will be great - once we poll workers get through our learning curve.
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