System and method for monitoring precinct-based ballot tabulation devices

A system for remotely monitoring a plurality of ballot tabulation devices across a jurisdiction, comprising:

• a plurality of ballot tabulation devices located at a plurality of polling locations for the jurisdiction, wherein each ballot tabulation device comprises:
• a scanner assembly operable to scan at least a portion of a paper ballot with one or more marked voting selections to capture an image of the paper ballot;
• a processing circuit programmed to analyze the image of the paper ballot so as to decode and tabulate the marked voting selections, wherein the processing circuit is also programmed to generate and maintain health status information on the ballot tabulation device, wherein the health status information provides an indication of any irregularities associated with operation of the ballot tabulation device and comprises one or more of:
• (a) statistical ballot tabulation information that enables a determination of one or more of the following:
• a percentage of over votes processed by the ballot tabulation device, a percentage of under votes processed by the ballot tabulation device, and a percentage of blank ballots processed by the ballot tabulation device;
• (b) operating condition information on one or more of the following:
• a battery charge of the ballot tabulation device, an AC or DC power status of the ballot tabulation device, a modem signal strength of the ballot tabulation device, and an internal temperature of the ballot tabulation device;
• (c) poll information on one or more of the following:
• a poll status of the ballot tabulation device, a poll opening timestamp for the ballot tabulation device, and a poll closing timestamp for the ballot tabulation device;
• a central server located at a central election office for the jurisdiction remote from the ballot tabulation devices at the polling locations, wherein the central server is operable to periodically receive the health status information for each ballot tabulation device as transmitted over a communication network and is programmed to generate an alert that identifies any irregularities associated with operation of the ballot tabulation device based on the received health status information.