| Goals And Objectives Description of the Project:
The results of the recent election in our municipality have caused concern over the validity of our vote counting process. Our current law states that a manual recount is required when the vote count differential is less than 0.5%. However, neither the manual vote counting process nor the vote counting device have been analyzed to determine their reliability. Such information will be beneficial to the legislature when they convene to discuss the state of our voting process. Therefore, the improvement team has decided to collect some data relating to the vote counting process. They will start the measurement phase with an experiment to determine if the punch-hole type ballots have any tendency to become altered or materially misshaped - such that the outcome (or vote) would change if the same ballot were subjected to a manual recount - as a result of being processed through the vote counting device. This one-factor-at-a-time experiment will explore the possibility that manual recounts, even if proven to be reliable, could give erroneous information if the ballots they receive (as inputs into the manual recount process) from the vote counting device have been altered in some way. Subsequent experiments will examine whether the practice of stacking and binding the punch-hole type ballots after they have been processed through the device would contribute to any alteration of outcomes. Data To Be Collected:
Post-feed vote count accuracy. Name of Measure (Label Or Identifier):
Vote count totals from pre-marked ballots after being processed by the vote counting device. Description of Measurement (Accuracy, Cycle Time, Etc.):
Accuracy - Comparison of ballot and vote totals pre-and post-feed, giving us a yield.
Purpose of Data Collection:
Ultimately, the goal is to determine if the reliability of the manual vote counting process and ballot counting devices in our municipality will be consistent with our laws requiring a re-count at a 0.5% threshold. What Insight The Data Will Provide:
The data, when counted and compared with the pre-marked ballot totals prior to processing, should tell us if the ballots are distorted in any way when they are fed through the vote counting device such that the outcome (or vote) is altered. Type of Measure (Input, Process, or Output):
Process measure. Type of Data (Discrete-Attribute, Discrete-Count, or Continuous):
Discrete-Count.
How It Will Help The Improvement Team:
The team will be able to make a decision on whether to eliminate from consideration the possible effects of the ballots being processed through the vote counting device as a possible factor in the overall reliability of the vote counting system. What Will Be Done With The Data After Collection:
The team will use the data to arrive at a process accuracy measure, which may be included in the final rolled throughput yield calculation. The team may also use the data to populate a concentration diagram if vote count inaccuracies seem to congregate in one particular area on the ballot that might indicate an obstruction or force in the device that would cause inaccurate vote counts. Operational Definitions And MethodologyWho? (Roles, Responsibilities):
Project Lead and Process Owner will supervise/oversee; each team member will participate in the data collection. What? (Define The Measure):
Post-feed vote count accuracy: Inaccurate = Post-feed ballot does not match exactly the outcome (votes) of the same pre-marked ballot at pre-feed. Where? (Source, Location):
Data collection will take place at the precinct 9 headquarters. Data analysis will be conducted at the State Capital offices. Scope: Sampling Plan (Number Of Observations):
1,000 total observations are desired. 250 of them coming at each interval. When (Times, Intervals, Frequencies):
Data collection to take place every Thursday beginning October 9th from 9AM to 10 AM. Data collection will cease on October 30th. Past Data:
None available. Present Data:
Data collection to begin October 9. Future Data:
To be determined.
How (Methodology):
Post-feed vote count accuracy: A pre-marked ballot containing five names written in magic marker (located in the upper right corner of the ballot) will serve as the actual voter intention and will indicate to the participant who they will vote for, i.e. what hole to punch. The participant will take the pre-marked ballot to voting booth A and punch the appropriate holes. The hole-punching will be observed by the Team Lead or the Process Owner. When all the appropriate holes are punched, the Team Lead or Process Owner will record the results as they interpret the punches. The participant will then take the ballot and deposit it into the vote counting device. Once the ballot has been fed into the device and the vote has been registered, it will be collected again by the participant and compared to the original, pre-feed vote at booth B. The Team Lead or Process Owner will record the results once again as they interpret the punches in their post-feed form. The process will repeat until the desired number of observations has been met. How (Recording Data):
Use the tally sheets provided by the Team Lead. An inaccurate vote count will receive the numeral zero on the tally sheet and an accurate vote count will be recorded (tallied) as the numeral one. Data Collection (And Measurement) R&R, Accuracy And StabilityPlan for Data Collection (and Measurement) Repeatability:
Not applicable. Plan for Data Collection (and Measurement) Reproducibility:
Not applicable. Plan for Measurement Systems Accuracy:
Not applicable. Plan for Measurement Systems Stability:
Not applicable. | 
