Electronic Voting System for a Legislative Body May Abstract Voting in a legislative body can be a time consuming process, in that individual votes must be counted either by roll call or other means that is not time efficient. Thus having an electronic voting system where the legislative body members can register their votes simultaneously, this would greatly speed up the legislative process and allow the legislative body to accomplish more. This is particularly useful when the legislative body has to vote several times during a session. The solution to this problem is to provide each legislative member with an electronic voting device that is connected to a computer (via a controller) that will automatically tally the votes and display the results and various statistics. The other major objective is to produce a voting system that is not only time efficient for the legislative body, but also cost effective. This allows the legislative body to be more effective in their sessions. Abstract Voting in a legislative body can be a time consuming process, in that individual votes must be counted either by roll call or other means that is not time efficient. Thus having an electronic voting system where the legislative body members can register their votes simultaneously, this would greatly speed up the legislative process and allow the legislative body to accomplish more. This is particularly useful when the legislative body has to vote several times during a session. The solution to this problem is to provide each legislative member with an electronic voting device that is connected to a computer (via a controller) that will automatically tally the votes and display the results and various statistics. The other major objective is to produce a voting system that is not only time efficient for the legislative body, but also cost effective. This allows the legislative body to be more effective in their sessions. Team Leader Michael T. Riley 404 N. Dakota Ave. Ames IA, Computer Engineer Team Member Robert Ernst Meyer III 102 N. Dakota #2 Ames IA, Computer Engineer Team Member Dan Phan-Quoc Kieu 131 Campus Ave. Ames IA, Computer Engineer Faculty Advisor Dr. J.W. Lamont 324 Town Engineering Ames IA, Fax: Electrical and Computer Engineering Client Kathryn Kallaher GSB Senator GSB Rules Committee Member GSB c/o East Student Office Space Memorial Union, Ames IA Psychology Faculty Advisor Dr. R.E. Patterson III 326 Town Engineering Ames IA, Fax: Electrical and Computer Engineering INTRODUCTION General Background The Government of the Student Body spends much of their time during legislative sessions voting on various issues. This process can tend to be tedious and time consuming as votes are taken. Thus there is a need to save time by having an electronic voting that enables the senators to vote simultaneously. This requires each senator to have a voting module that allows them to cast either a ‘YES’, ‘NO’, or ‘ABSTAIN’ vote. This module would then interface to a controller, which would talk to a computer and consequently display the voting results in a popular spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel . There must be one voting module for each senator with a number of modules in reserve for future GSB expansion. Technical Problem Cost Effective Easy Setup/Tear-Down Rugged Ease of Use Expandability Must fit within current vote polling procedures Operating Environment Horseshoe shaped table setting Campanile Room Memorial Union Intended Users Government of Student Body Senators Inter-Residence Hall Association Representatives Assumptions and Limitations Initial funding, limited to $1,000 Any additional Funding will come from the Inter-Residence Hall Association or internal funding Limited expandability after controller is designed Simplicity in setup and tear down Approval by the Government of the Student Body DESIGN REQUIREMENTS Design Objectives The primary objective of this project is to provide a high performance, low maintenance voting system at a reasonable price. This can be achieved only after carefully reviewing a long list of functional requirements and a series of design constraints. These topics to be considered are detailed in the following sections: Functional Requirements Voting Options (Yes, No, Abstain) ID Referencing of Senators Display Results of Voting Port Results to Microsoft Excel Voting Issue Displayed Roll Call Design Constraints Cost Effective Design Simple Design Low Maintenance Measurable Milestones Design Finalization/Research and Development Funding and Design Approval Implementation/Software Development Field Testing Final Approval Delivery END PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Legislative Electronic Voting System will be used by GSB in their senate sessions. This system will include fifty modules being assigned individually to each senator that allow them to cast a ‘YES’, ‘NO’, or ‘ABSTAIN’ vote that a controller will recognize and be interfaced with a computer that will tally the voting results and report them in Microsoft Excel . Each module will incorporate the ability to identify each senator either by number or login. Technical Approach Software Interface To Voting System Voting Module Interconnection Fool Proof Design Possible Addition of LCD’s and Keypads Parts used to construct modules and controller Technical Design 3 components: modules, controller, and laptop Data obtains by the modules and controller are sent to laptop Ruggedly constructed modules Possible addition of microprocessor, keypad, and LCD Government of the Student Body Approval Testing Description Lab Testing of Controller and Computer Interface Small Scale Testing Large Scale Field Testing Expense Budget Effort Budget ItemMaximum estimated cost Wires and Cables$ Jacks$65.00 Boxes$ Chips$ Development Kit$ Fabrication$ Switches, LED's, Displays$ Shipping$75.00 Poster$50.00 Total$1, Figure 1: Operating Environment Figure 2: Voting Module