US2940663A - Automatic vote-tallying machine - Google Patents

Description

June 14, 1960 J. L. FECHTER ET AL 2,94

AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1957 a June 14, 1960 J. L. FECHTER ETAL 2,940,663

AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 WTQQA/E'VS June 1960 J. L. FECHTER ET AL 2,94

AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 i 5/3 3 E v D 50 WA/65 4 :50/752 4 51/678677 4-. 5722 map FIG. 9. BY

June 14, 1960 J. L. FECHTER ETAL 2,940,663

AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 16, 1957 June 14, 1960 J. L. FECHTER ETAL 2,940,663

AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Dec. 16, 1957 INVENTOR$ June 14, 1960 J. L. FECHTER ET AL 2,940,663

AUTOMATIC VOTE--TALLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 BALLOT CONGRESSIONAL S MITTEO TOWTE F16 JZ.

COUNTY COMMITTEE 1 COUNTY coMMITTEE Member Counb' Cen+ral Commuf'tee Member Counrv Cenfml CommIHee (AN E l sf Superwsor Dlsfncf mam |3(.SuperVl5or DIsl-ncf Voieforfim ham CANDIDATE "A" on CANDIDATE K CANDIDATE "a" c CANDIOATE"B" r CANDIDATE "c" w I momma 't" 0% (.ANOIDATE'DN m1 CANDIDATE "0" CA L CANDIDATE'E' MM CANDIDATE "E" FIG. .15. 1 G. .14.

INVENTORS JHMES L P567058 107 TOQIVE Y5 YB/EQE7'7' E. 57444420 United States Patent AUTOMATIC VOTE-TALLYING MACHINE James L. Fechter, Covina, and Everett E. Stallard, Po-

mona, Califi, assignors to Southern California Aircraft Corporation, Ontario, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Dec. 16, 1957, Ser. No. 703,029

14 Claims. (Cl. 235-56) This invention relates to apparatus for counting and totalizing simultaneously a plurality of marks appearing in preassigned positions on paper, and, more particularly, to improvements in vote-tallying machines.

With the large growth in population which is occurring, many communities are finding that counting the individual votes on ballots, which must be gone through after each municipal, county, state or national election, is a long and tedious process. It usually requires the concentrated efforts of numerous poll workers who for assuring accuracy must check and recheck the individual votes.

Because of the number of errors and inaccuracies which result, not only from the monotony and tediousness of the Work, but also from the natural desire to expedite the counting to obtain as early an election return as possible, machines are provided suitable for voting. However, these are complex and expensive and usually several of these must be provided for each'voting place with some maintained in reserve for breakdown replacement. It often happens that breakdowns occur during the course of voting with consequent voiding of the vote at the time, since it is not known until some time later whether or not the vote cast at the time of breakdown was counted, and thus the voter is usually not allowed to vote twice. Furthermore, a large number of voters regard voting machines with suspicion and oftentimes have difliculty in learning how to use them. Accordingly, the marking of paper ballots for the purpose :of voting is still to be preferred, not only for the foregoing reasons, but also because of the fact that it allows the voter to concentrate only on the process of voting, and not be confused about the mechanics of the apparatus with which he must vote. Also, a machine which :can count these paper ballots rapidly is preferable since only one of these can be used for counting the ballots .from several voting places and thus the savings over the cost of several other types of voting machines is considersable.

An object of the present invention is to provide novel apparatus for automatically counting the votes on paper iballots.

Still another object of the present invention is to prosetting up the invention to accommodate any number of oflices with any desired number of candidates for each oflice.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the ballot, reading, and tabulating apparatus comprising this invention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a photoelectric reading head arrangement employed in the invention,

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2, showing the belt-drive mechanism for a ballot,

Figure 4 is a transverse section along the lines 4-4 of Figure 2, showing the double ballot thickness detection apparatus and apparatus to prevent feeding in more thanone ballot at a time,

Figure 5 is a detail along the lines 5-5 of Figure 2,

- showing the arrangement for suspending the reading Wide useful apparatus for rapidly counting the votes on ,"paper ballots.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel, useful, and improved vote-tallying appaaratus.

These and other objects of this invention are provided iby apparatus which includes photoelectric means for :scanning a ballot and determining for which candidates votes have been cast, and thereafter counting these votes. The photoelectric apparatus also detects whether or not 'more than the legally allowed maximum number of candidates has been voted for for each ofiice, and, if this 'is so, it does not count the votes for that particular otfice. Further means are provided so that only one matrix,

Figure 6 is a detail along the lines 6-6 of Figure 2, and shows the ballot stop and discharge mechanism,

Figure 7 is a circuit diagram showing the arrangement for sensing the presence of a ballot,

Figure 8 is a circuit diagram showing the arrangement for sensing a double ballot thickness,

Figure 9 is a circuit diagram showing an arrangement for setting up an office overvote detection circuit,

Figure 10 is a circuit diagram of the vote detecting and tallying circuit,

Figure 10A is a circuit diagram of an alternative arrangement for a voting and tallying circuit,

Figure 11 shows the patch board which is employed for setting up the different number of candidates allowed as the maximum for each ofiice,

Figure 12 shows a sample ballot,

Figure 13 shows a ballot with the correct number of votes having been cast for an office,

Figure 14 shows a ballot with an incorrect number of votes having been cast for an ofiice; and

Figure 15 shows a marking device suitable for marking a ballot.

Reference is now made to Figure l of the drawings which is a perspective view of the ballot-reading apparatus 10 and the ballot-tabulating apparatus 12. The ballot-reading apparatus has a flat surface or table top 14 upon which are mounted two spaced guard rails 16A, 16B. These rails have an outward flare and are spaced apart to receive the ballot having thereon marks to be counted. A reading head cover 18 has a slot into which a ballot is guided between the guide rails 16A, 16B. As soon as the leading edge of the ballot enters this slot, apparatus thereafter automatically guidesethe ballot into a position underneath the photoelectric reading head under the cover which is proper for photoelectric scanning of the voting marks made thereon. Once the scanning process is completed the ballot is thereafter passed out from under the reading head cover 18 through a slot, not shown, into a suitable receiving box 20.

The vote count is displayed by the tabulating appathe counters to protect them against dust and from outside interference and to enable their constant inspection. The tabulating apparatus 12 also includes a total vote counter 19. This counter counts the total number of ballots-which have been processed by the vote tabulating machine. a

. The control panel 25 carries fuses 27, power .switches, a 13+ measuring meter 29 with an associated shunting switch 31 and a light brightness adjusting control 33. The light brightness control is used to establish the light level required to actuate photocells through an unmarked ballot paper. It thus affords a means for compensating for ballots of different color which may be used. The panel 35 covers the set up control plug board for the machine which is described and shown in more detail in Figure 10.

Although the ballot-tabulating apparatus comprising this invention canoperate extremely rapidly, a finite tirneis still required for scanning each ballot and entering theresults derived therefrom. Thus, in the invention, meansmust be provided to prevent the insertion under the reading head of a second ballot while a first ballot is being scanned. Means must also be provided for preventing the insertion simultaneously of more than one ballot at a time. Furthermore, means must be provided for detecting the situation where the number of candidates running for an office exceeds the number of positions available for such oifice, and thus the voter can cast only as many votes as positions available for an office which is less than the number of candidates running for the ofiice.

Figure 12 shows a portion of a ballot 30 of the type suitable for employment with the invention, although it is not necessarily limited thereto. Such ballot will contain a list of the offices, and under each office there will be listed the candidates for that ofiice. Figure 13 'shows a typical situation where, for the ofiice in question,

there are five candidates, but there are only four positions available. Thus, the voter is instructed to vote for only four of the five candidates. In the ballot shown in Figure 13, the voting box has been filled properly by the voter. The voting box may be filled in either colored ink or pencil. It is preferred, but not necessary, that a marking stick, such as the one shown in Figure 15, be employed since this completely fills the box. This marking stick will have a body portion 32, which has a felt or othersuitable material pad 34 mounted at one end. This pad can be inked from the usual inking pad and then applied to fill the box of whichever candidate for whom it is desired to cast a vote. Figure 14 shows the same office and candidates as Figure 13, only the voter has incorrectly voted for all of the candidates, instead of four of the five.

Reference is now made to Figure 2, which shows a plan view of the photoelectric reading arrangement employed in this invention with the cover 18 removed. It will be seen therethat the photoelectric reading head 19 includes a number of columns of holes 40. By way of example, six colums of holes are shown, corresponding to a ballot such as shown in Figure 12 having six columns within which votes may be cast. Photoelectric cells 42 are mounted in each one of the holes which will fill over a marking position on a ballot when the ballot is inserted in the proper position underneath the photoelectric readinghead. The detail of the photocell mounting is shown in Figured. It will be seen there that the hole for the photocell is made in a block 44 of insulating material. A metal tube 46, holding the photocell element at one end, may be inserted into the hole. A supporting lug 48 for the tube 46 is adapted to be mounted on an adjacent supporting bus bar 50. This bus bar provides one terminal for the output from each photoelectric cell, to

which connections can be made. A second terminal strip 52 for affording the other required connection to each of the photoelectric cells. 42 is provided, to which 4 the output lead 51 from the photoelectric cell is attached. The bus bar provides a common connection for 3+ and the terminal provides individual circuit connections as will be shown hereinafter in detail.

From what is described thus far, it may be seen that the arrangement provided for scanning the ballots affords great flexibility, since the photocells may be grouped,

' as may be seen in Figure 2, in as large a number as is required or as small'a number as is required. Furthermore, it is not necessary to keep a photocell available for each opening 40 in the reading head, the number re quired being only that for the maximum expected number of candidates. Thus, a saving in expensive equipment is afforded by this apparatus. It will be appreciated that a photocell is positioned over the expected marking area for every single candidate for an office. The photocell groupings shown in Figure 2 represent the number of expected candidates for each ditferent oflice.

, As may be seen in Figure 5, a ballot is positioned in the slot or spaced opening between the member 44 and the table member ,14. The table member has holes 43 drilled therein opposite the openings til for the photoelectric cells. Lamps 54, which may preferably be of the :fluorescent type, extend across the various columns of openings and provide light which shines on the photocells 42 unless a mark in the proper spot on the ballot either blocks the light or considerably reduces its intensity. The member 44 is supported above the member 14 by means of a plate 56, to which it is attached by two bolts 58. As may be seen in Figure 2, four of the plates 56 are employed for support. The plate 56 may have its height adjusted in view of the fact that it is supported with two nuts 60, 62, which arethreaded upon a stud 64, which is fixedly mounted in the member14.

Reference is now made to Figure 3, which is a view along the lines 33 of Figure 2, and which shows the ballot advancing mechanism for the voting machine. It was previously indicated that the ballot is manually inserted into the slot between the member 44 and the table surface 14. In Figure 3, the insertion occurs from the right. The ballotis guided into the slot by a top guide member 69 as well as by the side guide rails 16A and 16B. The leading edge of the ballot is engaged between a pair of steel balls '70, which are held in place but are free to rotate upon a belt 72. Actually, as seen in Figure 4, there are two belts 72. The belts 72 are each rotatably driven from a pair of pulleys '74, 76. As seen in Figure 4, the shaft on which the pulleys are mounted extends to support a first drive pulley '77. This is driven by another belt 79 from a second drive pulley 78, which, in turn, is driven from a drive motor 89. A gravity tensioning device for the belts 7 2 includes a support member 82, which pivo-tably supports a lever 84. The lever includes a rotatably supported wheel 86 for each belt, which rests upon each belt 72. A weight 3% is supported from the opposite end of the lever member 84.

When the ballot is inserted, its leading edge is caught balls 70, the weight of which serves to flatten and urge the ballot forward. The ballot will move forward in the slot between the members 14 and 44, being guided and maintained flat by these members and also by a further series of steel balls dd, 92, and 94. The balls 96 are employed for ejecting the ballot after itsvote has been tallied. The arrangements of the steel balls over. the area ofthe reading head may better be seen in Figure 2. With the ballot transport arrangement shown, a ballot is quickly moved to thee-position at which an inspection and countof the votes on the ballot can be made. Thereafter the ballot is moved out from under the reading head.

Reference is now made to, Figure 4, which is a section along the lines 4 .4 of Figure 2 and is a transverse view of the input arrangement to the reading head. As the (5 ballot ,is fedunder thercading head,,it first passes by a photoelectric cell 100, which is employed to determine whether more than a single ballot is being fed into the slot, between the reading head and the table member 14. The circuit for the photoelectric cell 100 will be subsequently described. Briefiy, its operation is based upon establishing the sensitivity of the photoelectric cell so that it will provide a blocking operation when the amount of light which reaches this call through the ballot is less than the amount it will receive from a single ballot thickness. By using a sample ballot, the response of this photoelectric cell may be adjusted, not only for white ballots, but also for ballots having diiferent colors. As soon as photocell 100 senses that more than one ballot is being attempted to be fed into the vote-tallying machine, it energizes a solenoid 102, which operates to move its plunger 103 downward against the table top 14. The effect of this is to prevent the further advance of the two ballots under the reading head of the vote-tallying machine. Solenoid 102 will remain energized until a release button on the control panel is activated. Since the two ballots cannot be drawn under the reading head, they will extend outward from under the reading head, and thus manifest the fact that something is wrong. As may be seen in Fignrre 2, the solenoid 102 is located fairly close to the opening into which the leading edge of a ballot is first inserted, and therefore a suflicient ballot length extends out from under the reading head cover to readily enable the withdrawal of the ballots and their reinsertion singly. Of course, no vote tally is made. It should be noted further that solenoid 102 serves a double function, since as will be described in detail later, it is also operated after a single ballot is properly inserted to prevent the subsequent insertion of a following ballot until'the one already under the reading head has been scanned.

Figure 6 is a detail taken along the lines 6--6 of Figure 2. It shows the mechanism whereby a ballot which has been properly inserted is stopped at the proper location for tallying, and after such tallying has occurred, for enabling the ejection of the ballot from under the reading head. it was previously described that the steel balls are rotated by the belts 72 and that when the ballot is inserted it is carried by the belts underneath the reading head with the steel balls rotating on top of the ballot and helping to maintain it flat. The ballot will be moved forward until it strikes a stop member 104. The stop member has one end resting on the belts 72. This stop member is pivotably supported from a member 106 which is actually the plunger of the solenoid 108. Solenoid 108 is supported by a plate 110 mounted on the member 44. A spring 112 assists in holding the stop member 104 in the position shown in the drawing. When the plunger 106 of the solenoid is retracted when the solenoid is operated, it will cause the end of the stop member resting on the belts to pivot upward and the spring then helps to hold the member 104 parallel to the belts, thus enabling the belts 72 to move the ballot forward until the balls 96 can engage the leading edge whereby the belts can eject the ballot out from under the reading head.

The member 104 rides on the belts so that its edge will block any further passage of a ballot which comes in contact therewith. After the ballot has passed from under it, the stop member again is lowered onto the belt 72, and thus it blocks further passage of the following ballot. The solenoid 108 is actuated at the proper time by a switch 116 operated by a motor-driven cam 7. As will be subsequently described in detail, when a ballot is inserted into the vote-tallying machine, a program motor is started which drives a plurality of cams amongst which is the one designated as cam No. 7. Cam No. 7, closes switch 116 after the time required for the tallying of the vote on the ballot, which energizes the solenoid 108 for the time required to eject a ballot.

From the description given thus far, it is seen that ballots are fed singly in succession under a reading head comprising a plurality of photocells which are mounted over the positions on the ballot where marks are placed indicative of the selection of the voter. The inserted ballot is conveyed by a unique steel ball and belt atrangement under the reading head until the leading edge of the ballot strikes a member which stops it in place. As may be seen in Figure 4, the belts are driven together from the same drive source, and therefore once a ballot is inserted there is no tendency manifested for it to turn under the reading head. Furthermore, the two guides 16A, 16B, which are seen in Figure 1, assure the fact that the ballot is properly aligned for correct insertion under the reading head. This alignment is maintained by the driving mechanism, as well as by the sidewalls 101A, 101B of the reading apparatus, which may be seen in Figure 4. The ballot is brought to a stop by a stop member 104, which holds it in proper position for inspection by the plurality of photocells in the reading head. At a time interval to enable the proper inspection to occur, the stop member is lifted, whereby the ballot may be ejected from under the reading head. Means are provided to prevent the insertion of more than one ballot at a time. This includes a photocell which detects the extra paper thickness and energizes a solenoid 102 to block further insertion of the ballot.

There will now be described the electrical circuitry which is employed in the embodiment of the invention. When a ballot is in proper position under the reading head, reterring now to Figure 2, a photocell is energized. This photocell is made sufliciently sensitive to react to the insertion of a ballot between it and the light source below. Reference is now made to Figure 7, where may be seen the circuit diagram of the apparatus including photocell 120 which starts the ballot-tallying operation. The photocell 120, as well as all the other photocells employed in this invention, comprises a cadmium selenide photoconductive cell, the resistance of which varies inversely with the amount of light to which it is exposed. This is not to be construed as a limitation on this invention, but merely an illustration used in an embodiment of this invention.

When a ballot is not present, the photocell 120 has its lowest resistance and a relay 124 is maintained operated. By means of variable potentiometer 122 in series with the photocell, and also with a relay coil 124, when a ballot is inserted the resistance of the photocell increases, and the resistance of the potentiometer 122 to which the relay 124 is connected is adjusted so that the relay 124 does not obtain sufiicient operating potential and will become inoperative. Relay 124 has a first set of contacts 124A, which, when operated, connect a potentiometer 125 across the coil of the relay. By means of potentiometer 125, it is further possible to adjust the relay to be more sensitive to any increase in the resistance of the photocell 120. Contacts 124B of relay 124, when operated, maintain a relay 126 energized. Contacts 126A of relay 126 are connected to a relay 128. However, this relay remains unoperated in view of the fact that when relay 124 is operated, contacts 1124B apply the 28-volts energizing potential only to relay 126 and not to relay 1128.

When a ballot is inserted and the resistance of photocell 120 increases, relay 124 will become de-energized. This, in turn causes relay 126 to become de-energizcd. However, in view of the circuit provided by condenser and its current limiting resistor 131, which are connected across the relay coil, relay 126 is a slow-torelease relay and does not de-energize as quickly as does relay 124. Thereby, the 28 volts may be applied over the now-inoperated contacts 124B and the still-closed contacts 126A to momentarily operate relay 128. When this occurs, the contacts 128A of relay 128 are able to apply operating potential over cam-operated contacts 130 to a program motor 132. The cam No, 1, which is driven by this motor, will allow the IFS-volts potential to be applied to the motor over the cam-driven contacts 130, which, in their other operating position, do not apply this potential through contacts 128A. The

arrangement shown enables the motor to rotate for one complete revolution, at which time cam No. 1 will break the connection of contact 13% with its lower contact terminal and restore it to connection with its upper contact terminal, at which time the motor will stop.

The program motor 132 and its associated cams and switches enables the timing and sequencing operations within the embodiment of the invention during the process of the vote tallying. This motor drives seven cams,

six of which are usedin this embodiment of the inven tion, through a complete cycle each time a ballot is inserted. It will be recalled that in Figure 6 there is shown cam No. 7, which is driven by this motor 132 so that at the completion of the tallying operation for a ballot, switch 116 is closed, whereby solenoid 168 is energized so that the ballot may be ejected. Switch 1 16 is de-energized after an interval sufiicient to allow this ballot to be ejected.

Reference is now madeto Figure 8, which shows an electrical circuit for preventing the simultaneous insertion of more than one ballot under the reading head and also for preventing the insertion of a ballot under the reading head while a preceding ballot is still being tallied. It was previously pointed out that the photocell 100 was employed for the purpose of detecting the presence of more than one ballot thickness. As shown in Figure 8, the photocell 100 comprises a portion of a voltage divider connected between B+ and ground which includes a resistor 134, a potentiometer 136, and the photocell 100. presence of a single ballot, the resistance of the photocell 100 will be sufliciently low so that the grid of the thyratron tube 138 does not receive a triggering potential. When two ballot thicknesses are intervened between the photocell 10d and its light source, its resistance increases and thereby the grid of the thyratron 138 becomes sufficiently positive to cause the thyratron to fire, Adjustment for sensitivity to either two ballot thicknesses or different ballot colors is readily made by means of potentiometer 136.

When thyratron tube 138 fires, a relay 14th, which is in series with its plate, is energized. This closes contacts 140A, whereby operating potential is applied to thesolenoid 102 and its plunger blocks any further insertion of the two ballots. A reset button 142 must be pushed to de-energize the thyratron 13h, whereby relay 1-40 is de-energized and solenoid N2 can withdraw its plunger to enable the further utilization of the votetallying machine.

In the event that a single ballot has been properly inserted into the vote-tallying machine, then motor 132 is operated as described in connection with Figure 7.

V Thereby; it rotates a cam No. 6, which serves the function of closing a pair of contacts 144 over an are which may be described as between 10 and 355 of rotation. The closing of contacts 144 allows the application of current to the solenoid 102 so that it remains closed and prevents the insertion of any further ballots until the ballot presently under the reading head has had its vote tallied and is ejected.

Attention is now directed to Figure 10, which is a circuit'diagram of the apparatus required for an actual vote tally, and, further, whereby votes more than the allotted number of candidates for an office are disregarded. A photocell 42 is in series with potentiometer 152, the function of which is to establish a potential whereby a thyratron 154 will be fired in the absence of a mark on the ballot, and will not be fired in the presence of a mark on the ballot. This arises by reason of the fact that the photocell 42 has a resistance which varies in-' versely with the amount of light to which it is exposed.

In the absence of a ballot or in the Thus, when a ballot does-not have aimark thereon,

' the resistance of a photocell 42 will be low and the potential of the grid of the. thyratron 154 will be more positive and thus will tire. In the presence of a mark on the ballot, the resistance of photocell 42 will be high, the grid of thyratron 154 will accordingly have a potential applied thereto which is below that required for its ignition, and thus the tube is not fired.

In series With the anode of thyratron 154 is a relay 156, Relay 156 is in series with cam-driven switch contacts 153. These are operated responsive to cam 2, which is driven from the program motor 132 to apply operating potential to the thyratron over a motor opera tional are extending from 45 to 145. Accordingly, shortly after the proper positioning of a ballot B+ is applied to the thyratrons to enable them to fire if no vote is seen. i

Relay 156 has two pairs of contacts 156A and 156B. Both are normally closed contacts. Contacts 1563, when closed, connect ground through a resistor 166 to one side of a jack 162. Contacts 156A connect through the external cable 24 (shown in Figure 1) to a solenoid 164 of a counter 22. The other side of contacts 156A is connected to the other side of the jack 162.

The circuit arrangement which has been described thus far is duplicated for every vote-tallying sensing photocell 42. Two more of these arrangements are represented in Figure 10 by rectangles designated as vote-sensing circuits 166A and 16613. Both of these rectangles include the register equipment. All of the vote-sensing circuits are brought out to the separate jacks 162 and '162Aand 1623. These jacks are interconnected in the manner shown so that they are all in parallel until a to which jack 1.68 is connected to vote-sensing circuit 166B shown in rectangle and to vote-sensing circuit 166A. The vote-sensing circuit shown in detail and any preceding vote-sensing circuits are thereby disconnected from jack 162A. The circuitry to which plug 16%; is connected, as will be described in more detail, comprises the arrangement whereby more than the prescribed number of votes for candidates for an ofiice serve to reject the votes for that particular office.

From what has been described, it will be appreciated that it is a fairly simple matter to establish a setup for tallying the votes in any ballot employing this invention. A plug such as the one 16% is connected by means of a patch cord 17% to another plug 172. This plug may be inserted into a jack 174, which is connected through one contact to an oliice relay 1'7 and through the other contact to the normally closed contacts 176A in the otiice relay. These normally closed contacts may be connected through a cam-operated switch 189' to a source of operating potential when the switch contacts are closed by cam 5 in response to operation of the. motor 1322. Cam 5 can enable the application of operating potential over an are from 70 to through the patch cord and contacts 156A to each one of the register solenoids 164 whereby a vote count is enter-ed in the count indicator 22 if all the prescribed conditions for valid voting have been complied with.

The ofiice relay 176 has its solenoid connected in series with a potentiometer 17%, which, in turn, is connected through a cam operated switch 179 to B+. Cam No. 3 operates to close switch 17% and thus provide B+ to all ofrice relays from 45. to of arc of motor 132. An olfice relay solenoid is connected through the patch cord to as many of the resistors 160 and through these resistors to ground through contacts 156B, as are selected by the insertion of the plug 168. More specifi: cally, assuming that for a particular otfice, the voter is instructed to vote for only one out of the two candidates running for oflice, then the plug 168 is inserted into jack 162A, whereby the two vote-sensing circuits, which have their photocells positioned over the proper ballot positions, are connected in parallel to the office relay apparatus. It will be seen that resistors 160A and 160B are connected in parallel to ground if relays 156 for both vote-sensing circuits are not operated. As previously described, this occurs when a vote has been cast for both candidates. When a vote has been cast for one of the candidates and not the other, then only one of the two resistors 160A, 160B is connected in series with the office relay 176. Potentiometer 178 is established at a position whereby when two resistors 160A, 160B are in series with the relay, enough current will flow to operate the relay. When only one of the resistors is in series with the relay, not enough current flows to operate the relay. Ifv relay 176 is operated, then no operating potential can be applied over its contacts to operate the vote-tallying solenoid 164. If no vote has been cast for the candidate, then obviously contacts 156A are open and the solenoid is not actuated.

Each ballot which is processed is counted by a total tally counter 19. This has its solenoid energized each time cam-operated switch contacts 180 are closed. This occurs when a bollot is in position for inspection of the votes thereon.

To summarize the above description, the office relay has one side of its coil connected to a plurality. of resistors in parallel. Each one of these resistors is connected to ground through the contacts of a relay which is operated to break this connection when a vote has not been cast and is not operated when a vote has been cast. The other side of the ofl'ice relay is connected through a potentiometer to a source of operating potential. The potentiometer has its resistance established so that when the number of legal votes has been cast for an ofiice, the oflice relay is not operated by that number of resistors connecting the other side of the office relay coil to ground. However, should a voter cast an excessive number of votes for a particular olfice, then one or more resistors are added in parallel, whereby the resistance of the plurality of resistors will be reduced to a value such that sufiicient current will flow to operate the office relay. When this occurs, no operating potential can be applied to any of the tallying solenoids, and the vote for this particular oflice is rejected. As shown in Figure and from the description, one set of otfice relay apparatus is required for each otfice. The other sets are designated in Figure 10 by the rectangles labeled oifice relay apparatus 182A and 182B.

Figure 10A shows an alternative arrangement of the oflice relay apparatus which may be employed where greater sensitivity is required than available with the arrangement in Figure 10. This occurs, for example where a large number of candidates are running for an ofiice and it is desired to operate the office relay if the number of candidates for whom a vote is cast exceeds, for example, 7 candidates. sensitivity of the arrangement to a large measure is determined by the sensitivity of the oflice relay 176. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10A, the function of detection is transferred to and is dependent upon the sensitivity of a transistor 169. The transistor has an input, output and biasing electrode corresponding to its base 171, collector 173 and emitter -175 and is illustrative of any suitable amplifying device. Thus, it should not be construed as a limitation on the invention.

In Figure 10A similar functioning apparatus to that in Figure 10 have been given the same reference nu- In the previous embodiment the,

merals. Thus, the rectangles 166C, 166D and 166E are three-vote sensing circuits, similar in every detail to the vote-sensing circuits 166, 166A, 166B shown in Figure 10 except for the fact that all of the sensing resistors instead of having one end connected to ground are connected through switch-operated cam 179 to B+ potential. This switch 179 is operated by cam 3.

Each resistor 160, as in Figure 10, will have its other end connected through switch contacts 156B to the same type of jack arrangement as was described in Figure 10. By means of a patch cord 170 ofiice relay apparatus can be connected to monitor as many vote-sensingcircuits as are assigned to any particular office. Each oflice relay apparatus will still include an office relay 176 with contacts 176A whereby, during the programmed interval, power may be applied to all the vote registers 22 which are connected to the contacts 176A when a proper number of votes have been cast for an office. The relay coil this time, however, connects operating potential to the collector 173 of a transistor 169. The base 171 of the transistor is conected to ground through a resistor 177 and also to as many of the parallel connected relay contacts 156B as are selected by the patch cord 170. As was previously described, when a vote is cast for a candidate the relay 156 remains unoperated and its normally closed contacts 156B will connect one end of resistor 160 through the jack, plug and patch-cord arrangement to the'base 171 of the transistor 169. The other end of a resistor 160 at the programmed time is connected to a source of potential. Efiectively therefore, a voltage divider across the source of potential is provided by one or more resistors 160 and resistor 177 with the base 171 being connected to the junction of these resistors. Thus, the potential or signal applied to the base depends on the number of parallel connected resistors 160, connected thereto, which of course depends on the number of votes cast for that oflice. The more votes cast, the higher will be the potential applied to the base.

Since the potential applied to the base, in the presence of a fixed bias applied to the emitter 175 determines the current drawn by the transistor through its collector, by determining in advance the value of the bias applied to the emitter, a means is provided for establishing when relay 176 will be operated by the current drawn by the transistor through its collector-base circuit. Effectively, this also determines how many resistors 160 can be connected in parallel to the base before the ofiice relay is operated or what maximum number of votes can be cast for an office beyond which all votes for that ofiice are not registered.

The bias for the emitter may be established in advance by adjustment of potentiometer 181. This potentiometer is connected in series with a resistor 183 and across B+. The slider of the potentiometer 181 is connected to the emitter 175. The two diodes 185A and 185B connecting the emitter to a negative bias source merely serve to protect the transistor against over voltage being applied to the emitter. The emitter bias can be set by the arrangement described so that the ofiice relay is not operated until the potential applied to the base through the parallel connected resistors 160 enables the transistor to draw operating current through the relay coil.

Reference is now made to Figure 11, which shows a patch board for setting up ofiices. The first two rows of jacks are the ofiice-relay jacks 172. The remaining rows of jacks are the jacks 162 for the vote-sensing apparatus. Each one of the jacks 162 is associated with a vote-sensing circuit which, in turn, includes a photoelectric cell 42. The position of the jacks 162, accordingly, corresponds to the photoelectric cell positions shown in Figure 2. The patch cords 170 are employed for connecting the number of vote-sensing circuits to a single ofiice relay. In accordance with the description very rapidly to indicate ballot totals.

1-1 which has been given above, the patch cord arrangement shown in Figure 11 may be interpreted to mean that the first patch cord 170A connects three vote-sensing circuits to one office relay, these three being the one into which the plug is inserted, as well as those to the right thereof. The second patch cord 17% connects the succeeding two vote-sensing circuits into an ofiice relay apparatus.

The thirdpatch cord 170C connects three vote-sensing circuits to the oflice relay apparatus.

In order to set up the potentiometer 178 or the potentiometer 181 for a particular office relay, the patch cord 17%) is first connected between the ofiice relay apparatus to be used and the test jack 180. The potentiometer 182 is then turned to which ever number marked on the panel represents the maximum number of legal votes for that otfice. Each one of the potentiometers 178'or 181 has its variable control arm brought out to the control panel shown in Figure 11, and these control arms are respectively identified by the engraving on the panel shown as No..1 adjust, N0. 2 adjust, No. 3 adjust, etc. Each one of these corresponds to a different one. of the ofice relay apparatus which are brought out to a different one of the jacks on the panel. The proper one of the potentiometer controls is then turned'until a light 184 is lit. At this time, the oflice relay sensitivity has been adjusted so that it will remain inoperative until more than the prescribed number of votes has been cast for an ofiice. The plug is then removed from the test jack and is inserted into the proper position for the votesensing circuits. Each one of the office relays may be set up quickly in this manner.

The circuit for the test setup is shown in Figure 9. It includes a selector switch 182, having the number of taps. desired for the maximum number of candidates which it Spresumed are to be handled by the arrangement. :1.

To each tap there isconnected a resistor 186, 1-95 the value of each of which is equal to that of resistor 16 The other sides of all the resistors are connected together and may be connected to ground if the embodiment of Figure 10 is employed, or 'to a source of B-lpotential if the embodiment of Figure 10A is employed.

The switch 182 is of the shorting type. Namely, the selector arm 183 carries a contact which maintains connection with each of the preceding contacts. Since one end of each of the resistors 186 through 2.00 is connected together, the shorting selector arm succeeds in connecting resistors 186 through 2th) successively in parallel as it is switched from the first to the eighth contact position. The potentiometer in series with the ofiice relay coil is adjusted until the light 184 is lit. This indicates that the ofiice relay will operate when the value of resistance in series with the coil is equal to the value of the parallel connected resistances 186 through 200 which have been selected. The resistor 2&2 in series with the light 134 is a current-limiting resistor.

From the description which has been given, it will become apparent that there has been described 'a new, useful and relatively inexpensive vote-tallying machine which is sufiiciently flexible to be rapidly set up to handle different numbers of candidates for diiferent' numbers of offices and for different ballots. Different ballot colors are readily handled. The vote-tallying machine operates Although the embodiment described herein uses a certain type of photocell and times its energization, those skilled in the art will realize that this can be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. 'For example, the light may be turned on and oil at proper intervals instead of timing the photocell operating potential. Also the illumination of a ballot can occur from a light source positioned on the same side as the photocells and the photocells may be operated from reflected light instead of transmittal light for all but the double thickness detector. Accordingly, it is intended that the spirit and scope of this invention. be limited'only by the. claims herein.

We claim: I

l. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing amark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device including a photocell associated with each mark the presence of which it is desired to detect, means for positioning each photocell over the location expected for a mark, a light source for illuminating a ballot when under said photoelectric reading device, means for conveying a ballot to a position under said photoelectric reading device at which each mark present lowers the intensity of light which passes from said ballot to the photocell associated with that mark, a means for each ofiice on said ballot operative responsive to. the sensing by photocells of more than a predetermined number of marks for an oflice, a separate counter means associated with each photocell, means to increase the count of each said separate counter means by one responsive to the sensing of amark by the associated photocell and to the means for each oflice on said ballot affected by said photocell being inoperative, and means operative after a ballot has been under 'said photoelectric reading device a predetermined interval to enable said' means for conveying a ballot to remove said ballot from undersaid photoelectric reading device.

2. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing .a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device having entrance and exit ends and including a mark-sensing photocell associated with each mark the presence of which it is desired to sense, means for positioning each photocell over the location expected on a ballot for a mark, a position-detecting photocell mounted at the exit end of said photoelectric reading device, a light source positioned to illuminate a ballot when under said photoelectric reading device,

means for conveying a ballot under and past said photo-.

electric reading device, means for holding a ballot against the operation of said means for conveying in a position under said photoelectric reading device to enable sensing of the presence of marks by the associated photocells, means responsive to said position-detecting photocell sensing a ballot in position under said photoelectric reading head to prevent a following ballot being brought under said reading head by said means for conveying, a means for each olfice on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing'of more than a predetermined number of marks for an ofiice by said mark-sensing photocells, a separate counter means associated with each mark-sensing photocell, means responsive to sensing of a mark by an associated mark-sensing photocell remaining inopera tive to increase the count of said counter means by one, and means operative a predetermined interval after said position-detecting photocell detects a ballot inposition to render said means for holding inoperative and said means to prevent a following ballot being brought under said reading head inoperative whereby said photoelectric reading device can operate on a succeeding ballot.

3. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device having entrance and exit ends and including a mark-sensing photocell associated with each mark the presence of which it is desired to sense, means for positioning each mark-sensing photocellover thelocation expected on a ballot for a mark, solenoid means mounted on the entrance end of said reading device for preventing the insertion of more than one ballot under said photoelectric reading device, a ballot position-detecting photo-- cell mounted at the exit end of said photoelectric reading device, a light source positioned to illuminate a ballot when under said photoelectric reading device,

means for conveying a ballot under and past said photo 7 electric reading device, means for holding aballot against the operation of said means for conveying in a position under said photoelectric reading device to enable the sensing of the presence of marks by the associated marksensing photocells, a motor, means responsive to said position-detecting photocell detecting the presence of a ballot to cause said motor to rotate through a single operative cycle, a first cam-operated switch means operative responsive to said motor to apply operating potential to said solenoid means, a means for each office on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing of more than a predetermined number of marks for an office by said mark-sensing photocells, a separate counter means associated with each mark-sensing photocell, means to increase the count of said counter means by one responsive to the sensing of a mark by an associated marksensing photocell and to the means for each ofiice affected by said mark-sensing photocell remaining inoperative, and a second cam-operative switch means operative responsive to said motor to render said means for holding a ballot inoperative for an interval after the marks on saifil ballot have been sensed by said mar -sensing photoce s.

4. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice as recited in claim 3 wherein said means for each oifice on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing of more than a predetermined number of marks for an olfice by said mark-sensing photocells includes for each office an office relay having a relay coil, a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell, means inclu ing a pair of relay contacts for each mark-sensing photo cell for coupling each of said resistors to one side of said ofiice relay coil, an adjustable potentiometer connected to the other side of said office relay coil, means to apply operating potential to said olfice relay coil through said adjustable potentiometer and all of said resistors, and means operative in response to a mark-sensing photocell which does not sense a mark to open the relay contacts associated with said mark-sensing photocell to disconnect the resistor from said oiiice relay coil.

5. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an oifice as recited in claim 3 wherein said means for each oflice on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing of more than a predetermined number of marks for an office by said mark-sensing photocells includes for each otfice an office relay havinga relay coil, a transistor having an input, output and biasing electrode, means coupling said oflice-relay coil to said output electrode, a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell, means including a pair of relay contacts for each mark-sensing photocell for coupling one side of each of said resistors tosaid input electrode, a potential source connected to the other side of all of said resistors, means operative in response to a mark-sensing coil which does not sense a mark to open the relay contacts associated with said mark-sensing photocell to disconnect the resistor from said transistor input electrode, and means to apply a bias to said transistor biasing electrode to enable said transistor to operate said ofiice relay when the number of said resistors coupled to said transistor base exceeds said predetermined number.

6. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device having entrance and exit ends and including a mark-sensing photocell for each mark positioned over the location expected on a ballot for a mark, means for conveying a ballot under said photoelectric reading device, a light source positioned to illuminates said ballot when under said reading device, a vote relay associated with each of said mark-sensing photocells, each vote relay having a relay coil and a first and second pair of normally closed contacts, means for rendering a vote relay operative when its associated mark-sensing relay does not sense a mark on a ballot under said photo- 14 electric reading device, a counter having a solenoid associated with each mark-sensing photocell, a resistor associated with each mark-sensing photocell, a jack associated with each mark-sensing photocell, each said jack having a first, second, third, and fourth contact, and means urging said first and second contact closed and said third and fourthcontact closed when a plug is not inserted therein, means connecting each said second and third contacts respectively to the first and second contacts of a different plug, means including said vote relay first pair of contacts connecting one end of said counter solenoid to the first contact of said plug, means including said resistor connecting said vote relay second pair of contacts to the fourth contact of said plug, for each ofiice on a ballot an oflice-relay circuit including an ofiice-relay jack means for connecting one of said office-relay circuits to the first and fourth contacts of one of said plugs into which said jack means is inserted, biasing means in each of said ofiice-relay circuits for establishing the potential required for rendering said ofilce relay operative, means for coupling said resistors to a source for providing the potential established by said biasing means when more than a predetermined number of votes have been cast for an oflice, and means for applying operating potential to all said counter solenoids through those ofiice relay circuits including operated ones of said ofiice relays While a ballot is under said photoelectric reading device.

7. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot as recited in claim 6 wherein said ofiice relay has a relay coil and a pair of normally closed contacts, said jack means includes means for connecting said normally closed contacts and one end of said ofiice relay coil respectively to the first and fourth contacts of said one of said plugs into which said jack means is inserted, said biasing means in each of said ofiice' relay circuits includes a potentiometer connected in series with the other end of said otfice relay coil.

8. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot as recited in claim 6 wherein each said ofiice relay has a relay coil and a pair of normally closed contacts, said biasing means in each said oflice relay circuit includes a transistor having a base, emitter and collector, means connecting said office relay coil to said collector, and means to apply a bias to said transistor emitter to establish the potential required to be applied to said transistor base to enable said transistor to operate said oflice relay, and said jack means includes means for connectin said normally closed contacts and said transistor base to the first and fourth contacts of said one of said plug into which said jack means is inserted.

9. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device having ballot entrance and exit ends and including a mark-sensing photocell, means for positioning each mark-sensing photocell over the location expected on a ballot for a mark, a double-thickness detecting photocell mounted at said entrance end, a ballot-position detesting photocell mounted at the exit end of said photoelectric reading device, means for conveying a ballot under and past said photoelectric reading device, a stop member, first solenoid-operated means for supporting said stop member in a position to hold a ballot under said reading device despite said means for conveying, illumination means positioned for illuminating a ballot under said reading head, second solenoid-operated stop means positioned at the entrance end of said reading device to block the conveyance of a ballot thereunder when operative, means for operating said second solenoid stop means responsive to said double-thickness detecting photocell detecting more than one ballot being conveyed under said reading device, a program motor, a plurality of camoperated switching devices driven from said program motor, relay means operated responsive to said ballotposition detecting photocell detecting the presence of a ballot under said reading device to apply power to said r program motor to initiate its operation, means including a first one of said plurality of cam-operated switches to enable said motor to complete a cycle'of operation, means including a second one of said plurality of cam-operated sw1tches to operate said second solenoid-operated stop means, means including a third one of said plurality of cam-operated switches to operate said first solenoid mean after a ballot has been read to enable its removal by said conveying means from under said photoelectric readmg device, for each ofiice on said ballot, an office relay having a pair of relay contacts, a counter means associated with each mark-sensing photocell, a vote relay associated with each mark-sensing photocell and having first and second normally closed pairs of contacts, means for coupling each said counter means to the first pair of contacts of the associated vote relay, means for coupling all the first pairs of contacts of vote relays to anofiice relay pair of contacts in accordance with the candidates for an ofiice for Which the marks on a ballot are to be sensed by the associated mark-sensing photocells, a sistor for each mark-sensing photocell having one end connected to said associated vote relay first pair of con tacts, means for connecting all the resistors to one end of the coil of the same office relay to the contacts of which the first pairs of contacts of said vote relays are connected, a difierent potentiometer connected to each ofiice relay coil other end, means for operating'said vote relays to open their relay contacts when operating potential is applied to a mark-sensing photocell when no mark is sensed by a mark sensing photocell, means to apply operating potential for said ofiice relays to all said potentiometers and the second pairs of contacts or" said vote relays, and means including a fourth one of said plurality of cam-operated switches to apply operating power to said counter means through said ofiice relay contacts after energization of said mark-sensing photocells. 7

10. In a machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an office wherein a mark-sensing photocell is provided for each candidate, apparatus for detecting whether for each office more than a permitted humber of candidates have been voted for said apparatus comprising a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell, an

ofiice relay for each ofiice, a variable potentiometer connected to one end of the ofilce relay coil, means responsive to a mark being sensed by a mark-sensing photocell for connecting the associated resistor to the other end of the office relay coil for, which office said mark-sensing photocell senses the vote for a candidate, means to apply operating potential to all said ofiice relay coils through said Variable potentiometers and all of said resistors, and means to adjust the resistance of each variable potentiometer to a value at which each said office relay does not become operative unless the number of said resistors connected thereto by reason of the marks sensed by said mark-sensing photocells exceeds the number ofcandidates permitted to be voted for each office associated with an ofilce relay.

11. In a machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an office wherein a mark-sensing photocell is provided for each candidate, apparatus for detecting whether for each office more than a permitted number of candidates have been voted for, said apparatus comprising a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell, an ofiice relay for each office, a transistor having an input, output and biasing electrode, means connecting said ofiiee relay coil to said output electrode, means responsive to a mark being sensed by a mark-sensing photocell for connecting the associated resistor to the input electrode of the transistor which is connected to the oflice relay coil for which ofiice said mark-sensing photocell senses the vote for a candidate, means for applying a potential to all said resistors, and means for applying abias to each of said transistor biasing electrode to .a value at which a transistor will not operate the oflice relay to which it is connected unless the number of said resistors connected thereto by reason of the marks sensed by said mark-sens"- ing photocells exceeds the number of candidates permitted to be voted for each ofiice associated with an office relay.

12. In a machine for counting the votes cast by plac ing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an oflice wherein a mark-sensing photocell and counter means is provided for and associated with each candidate, apparatus for detecting whether for each ofiice more than a permitted number of candidates have been voted for, said apparatus comprising a vote relay having a first and second pair of contacts, means operating a vote relay responsive to its associated photocell not sensing a mark, a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell connected in series with said second pair of contacts, said counter means being connected in series with said first pair of contacts, a jack having first, second,

third, and fourth contacts, with said first and second con-v tacts being closed in the absence of a plug and said third and fourth contacts being closed in the absence of a plug, means connecting each second and third contact of a jack respectively to the preceding plug first and fourth contacts, means connecting each vote relay first pair of contacts to a jack first contact, means connecting each resistor to the fourth contact of said jack, an office relay assigned for each oifice, each ofiice relay having a pair of normally closed contacts, plug cord means for connecting each office relay coil and contacts to a jack which has respectively connected thereto in parallel as many first sets of vote relay contacts and resistors as are associated with mark-sensing photocells to sense marks for candidates for the respective offices, a different resistance means connected to each vote relay coil to adjust a vote relay to be operative when the number of resistors connected to the other end thereof exceed the number of permitted votes for an ofiice, and means to apply counter means operating potential to said office relay contacts after a sensing operation by said mark-sensing photocells.

13. In a machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an oifice wherein a mark-sensing photocell and counter means is provided for'and associated with each candidate, apparatus for detecting whether for each oifiee more thana permitted number of candidates have been voted for, said apparatus comprising a vote relay having a first and second pair of contacts, means operating a vote relay responsive to its associated photocell not sensing a mark, a resistor for each mark-sensing photocell connected in series with said second pair of contacts, said counter means being connected in series with said first pair of contacts, a jack having first, second, third, and fourth contacts, with said first and second contacts being closed in the absence of a plug and said third and fourth contacts being closed in the absence of a plug, means connecting each second and third contact of a jack respectively to the preceding plug first and fourth contacts, means connecting each vote relay first pair of contacts to a jack first contact, means connecting each resistor to the fourth contact of said jack, an office relay assigned for each office, each office relay having a pair of normally closed contacts, a transistor having a base, emitter and collector, means connecting said ofiice relay coil to said collector plug cord means for connecting eachtransistor base and ofiice relay contacts to a jack which has respectively connected theretoin parallel as many first sets of vote relay contacts and resistors as are associated with mark-sensing photocells to sense marks for the candidates for the respective offices, a different bias means connected to each transistor emitter to establish the potential required to be applied to said transistor base to enable it to operate said office relay when the number of resistors connected to said base exceed the number of .permitted votes for an office, and means to apply counter means operating potential to said office relay contacts after sensing operation by said mark-sensing photocells.

14. A machine for counting the votes cast by placing a mark on a ballot in a predetermined location for each candidate for an ofiice comprising a photoelectric reading device including a. photocell associated with each mark the presence of which it is desired to detect, means for positioning each photocell over the location expected for a mark, a light source for illuminating a ballot when under said photoelectric reading device, means for con veying a ballot to a position under said photoelectric reading device at which each mark present lowers the intensity of light which passes from said ballot to the photocell associated with that mark, a means for each office on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing by photocells of more than a predetermined number of marks for an ofiice, a separate counter means associated with each photocell, means to increase the count of each said separate counter means by one responsive to the sensing of a mark by the associated photocell and to the means for each office on said ballot affected by said photocell being inoperative, said means to increase the count of a counter by one responsive to the sensing of a mark by the associated photocell includes for each photocell a vote relay having a pair of normally closed contacts, means to maintain said relay inoperative when a mark is sensed, means to connect said normally closed contacts to said counter means; said means for each office on said ballot operative responsive to the sensing by photocells of more than a predetermined number of marks for an oflice includes an office relay having normally closed contacts, means to apply operating potential to said ofiice relay contacts for each ballot, means to connect said office relay contacts to said vote relay contacts, and means operative after a ballot has been under said photoelectric reading device a predetermined interval to enable said means 'for conveying a ballot to remove said ballot from under said photoelectric reading device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,150,256 Warren Mar. 14, 1939 2,231,186 Gould Feb. 11, 1941 2,745,021 Kurshan May 8, 1956 2,750,108 Keith June 12, 1956 2,762,931 Schewe Sept. 11, 1956

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