Patent ID: 7314172

Claim:
A ballot marking apparatus for recording on a pre-printed paper ballot voter selections from one or more election contests, comprising: a housing; a plurality of paper guide members forming a paper path for the ballot within said housing; paper drive means for advancing the ballot along said paper path; a print head disposed along said paper path for printing on the ballot; a print head control circuit for controlling the operation of said print head; a scanner disposed along said paper path for generating periodic output signals indicative of the position of the ballot while said ballot is being printed on; a skew compensation circuit responsive to said scanner output signals for developing error signals indicative of continuous skewing of the ballot while said ballot is being printed on within said paper path; and said print head control circuit being responsive to said error signals for periodically adjusting the printing location of said print head on the ballot while said ballot is being printed on to compensate for said continuous skewing within said paper path.