Vote-recording apparatus

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising:

• means for holding a ballot card for punching;
• electrical sensor matrix means located adjacent the ballot card, and having a plurality of elemental sensors corresponding to available ballot selections;
• portable stylus means engageable with said electrical matrix means to actuate same at a selected elemental sensor, and having card punching means for simultaneously punching a portion of the ballot card corresponding to the ballot selection and to said acutated elemental sensor of said electrical matrix means;
• and
• electrical interface means connected with said electrical sensor matrix means, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the ballot selection.

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus comprising:

• means for holding a ballot card for punching;
• electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including
• an insulated board,
• a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to one face of said board, and
• a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to the other face of said board,
• said board and said column and row strips being perforated therethrough with holes located at points corresponding to areas of overlap of said column strips and said row strips;
• hand-held stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes, and including
• card-punching means movable through said selected hole to punch the ballot card,
• first contact means, for contacting the column strip at said selected hole,
• second contact means, for contacting the row strip at said selected hole, said first and second contact means being electrically connected, whereby an appropriate pair of said column and row strips is electrically connected as the card is punched by said card-punching means;
• and
• electrical interface means connected with said column strips and said row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole.

For use in an electronic balloting system, vote-recording apparatus for simultaneously producing punched holes in a ballot card and electrical signals indicative of voter selections, said apparatus including:

• means for holding a ballot card for punching;
• electrical contact matrix means located adjacent the ballot card and in parallel relation thereto, and including
• an insulated board having a first face, furtherst from the ballot card, and a second face adjacent the ballot card,
• a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive column strips affixed to said first face of said board;
• and
• a plurality of parallel, electrically conductive row strips affixed to said second face of said board,
• said board and said strips having holes therethrough located at areas of overlap of said column and row strips, said holes having a reduced diameter at said row strips to form an annular ledge in each hole;
• portable stylus means insertable in any selected one of said holes and including
• a generally cylindrical outer body, with an open end,
• a punch-rod centrally and rigidly mounted in said outer body and extending from said open end,
• an inner contact sleeve slidingly fitted to said punch-rod and sized to fit said holes and to contact one of said annular ledges formed by said row strips,
• an outer contact sleeve slidingly fitted over said inner sleeve and in said outer body, said outer sleeve protruding from said outer body, said inner sleeve, protruding from said outer sleeve, said punch-rod protruding from said inner sleeve, and said inner and outer sleeves being electrically connected, and
• resilient means to prevent removal of said outer sleeve from said outer body, and said inner sleeve from said outer sleeve,
• first resilient means mounted between said outer body and said inner sleeve to urge said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve outwardly from said open end,
• second resilient means mounted between said inner sleeve and said outer sleeve to urge said inner sleeve inwardly with respect to said outer sleeve, thereby resisting said first resilient means,
• whereby said stylus means is operated by inserting said punch-rod and said inner sleeve in said selected hole until said outer sleeve contacts said column strip, then depressing said outer body against said first and second resilient means until said punch-rod pierces the ballot card and said first resilient means overcomes said second resilient means and urges said inner sleeve into contact with said row strip;
• and
• electrical interface means connected with said column and row strips, for generating therefrom encoded electrical signals indicative of the row and column of said selected hole, said electrical interface means including
• distribution means for applying a signal to each of said strips in turn of one of said pluralities of row and column strips,
• scanning means for detecting said applied signal by scanning the other of said pluralities of row and column strips, and thereby detecting an electrical contact between one of said row strips and one of said column strips,
• means operative on the detection of a contact by said scanning means, for terminating operation of said distribution means and said scanning means and thereby preserving row and column numbers indicative of the location of the contact,
• means for transmitting the row and column numbers for tallying of the voter selections, and
• means for reactivating said distribution means and said scanning means.

For use with an electronic balloting system, apparatus for simultaneously punching a card and generating a corresponding electrical signal, said apparatus comprising:

• electrical contact matrix means, including
• an insulated board perforated with a plurality of holes corresponding to available voter selections,
• a like plurality of first contact elements affixed to one face of said board adjacent said holes,
• a like plurality of second contact elements affixed to the other face of said board and protruding slightly into said holes;
• and
• portable voting stylus means, including
• a punch-rod insertable through any selected one of said holes to punch a ballot card locatable beyond said electrical contact matrix means,
• a first contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod, for contacting one of said first contact elements,
• a second contact sleeve slidingly mounted with respect to said punch-rod and said first contact sleeve, for contacting one of said second contact elements on insertion in the selected hole and depression of said punch-rod, said first and second contact sleeves being electrically connected,
• resilient means urging said first and second contact sleeves into contact with said first and second contact elements, respectively, as said punch-rod is moved to punch the ballot card.