Except in the tiniest Vermont towns, optical scan machines are used. After scanning, the election workers search by hand for all the ballots that have write-ins, so the names can be read and counted. If we happen to notice a ballot like Carolyn Bodley described, we would hand-count it. But since the machine doesn't tell us how many ballots with cross-outs exist, we don't know how many to look for, so some may be missed.
The advantage of voting in person is that if the machine thinks the voter cast more votes than allowed for a certain race, it will spit out the ballot and display on the screen which race has a problem. The voter can then decide whether to get a fresh ballot, or submit the ballot anyway, knowing that race won't count. (The election official opens a panel with a key and pushes a button while the voter slides the ballot through the machine.)
When submitting an absentee ballot, there is no way to correct a ballot that has a problem. |