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Conclusions <br />Apparently an election judge mixed the Papermate pens with the <br />Berol pens.. The mixture of pens was offered to voters in a manner <br />that led to approximately 1/3 of the voters using the correct Berol <br />pens and 2/3 using Papermates. Unlike the Papermates, the Berol <br />pens recommended by BRC for use with its Optech III-C counters <br />feature a heavily pigmented ink. All things being equal, the <br />greater name recognition and more familiar design of the Papermates <br />may have led to their frequent selection and .use. <br />Recommendations <br />1. It is absolutely critical that only the correct, heavily <br />pigmented black soft-tipped pens (or No. 2 lead pencils) be <br />used to mark optical scan ballots. <br />2. Election judge training should stress the importance of use <br />of correct marking pens. <br />3. Polling place procedures and supplies should be reviewed to <br />ensure foolproof use of the correct pens. <br />4. Voter education in optical scan communities should include <br />mention of the importance of the correct pens. <br />5. Polling place posters and voting booth instructions should <br />enable voters to recognize if provided with the wrong pen and <br />discourage use of personal pens. <br />6. Election judges should be instructed to look for obvious <br />errors prior to signing the output tape of the ballot counter. <br />Handcounting should be emphasized as a possible remedy in <br />questionable situations. <br />7. State policy should be reevaluated regarding whether to permit <br />the rejection and return to the voter of an undervoted ballot <br />unless individually overridden. <br />