science

Hart InterCivic

Hart InterCivic is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hart InterCivic rather than just read about it. In short: Hart InterCivic Inc. is a privately held United States company that provides election technologies and services to government jurisdictions. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Hart products are used by hundreds of jurisdictions nationwide, including counties in Texas, the entire states of Hawaii and Oklahoma, half of Washington and Colorado, and certain counties in Michigan, Ohio, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana…

Key takeaways

Hart InterCivic belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hart InterCivic to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hart InterCivic from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hart InterCivic Inc. is a privately held United States company that provides election technologies and services to government jurisdictions. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Hart products are used by hundreds of jurisdictions nationwide, including counties in Texas, the entire states of Hawaii and Oklahoma, half of Washington and Colorado, and certain counties in Michigan, Ohio, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Company History Hart entered the elections industry in 1912, printing ballots for Texas counties. The company, formerly a division of Hart Graphics, Inc., was established as a subsidiary called Hart Forms & Services in 1989. In 1995, to better communicate its full scope of document management services, Hart Forms & Services changed its name to Hart Information Services, Inc. During the next five years, Hart Information Services rapidly expanded its market presence through the acquisition of three major election services providers: Texas County Printing & Services, Computer Link Corporation, and Worldwide Election Systems. Worldwide was the developer of the eSlate, Hart's direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machine. The eSlate was specifically designed to accommodate the needs of voters with disabilities. It is not a touch-screen device but uses a Select Wheel and digital push-button interface. The need for document management and election services continued to grow, and in 1999, the company spun off completely from Hart Graphics. In 2000, the company became Hart InterCivic Inc., reflecting its corporate mission to service the interactive relationship of Hart InterCivic, state and local governments, and the citizens they serve. In the mid-2000s Hart entered and then exited the Geographic Information Systems business by acquiring and then spinning back out Farragut Systems.

Board of directors and ownership In July 2011, Hart received what Hart described as "a strategic investment" from H.I.G. Capital, in a transaction that Hart's advisors called an "acquisition." As of July 2020, H.I.G. no longer listed ownership in the company on its website.

State reviews of election equipment

California TTBR On August 3, 2007, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen withdrew approval and then granted conditional reapproval of Hart InterCivic optical scan and DRE voting machines after a "top-to-bottom review" of California voting machines.

Ohio A report commissioned by Ohio's top elections official on December 15, 2007, found that all five voting systems used in Ohio (including one made by Hart InterCivic) had critical flaws that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election.

Issues On July 13, 2006, Mr. William Singer brought a qui tam complaint against Hart Intercivic, Inc. Mr. Singer worked as a computer technician for Hart from 2001 through early 2004 (at times as Hart’s only computer technician nationwide). Mr. Singer alleged in the complaint that Hart made false statements regarding the accuracy, testing, reliability, and security of its voting system. The machines were in use in 82 counties in Texas during the 2018 election and have been certified for use in the state since 2009. During voting for the 2018 Texas general election, an Election Advisory was issued by the Director of Elections, Keith Ingram. Voters using the InterCivic eSlate voting machine could have their votes adjusted or flipped while on a summary page if the buttons were interacted with if the page was not fully rendered. Secretary Rolando Pablos later issued an additional Advisory, noting that "[I]t is important for all voters in the 82 Texas counties utilizing the Hart Intercivic eSlate to understand that the voting machines are not malfunctioning, nor are they arbitrarily 'switching' the choices of voters who cast a straight-party ballot," citing a "disturbing trend" in the distribution of misinformation about the integrity of the machines and the election.

See also Electronic voting Voting machine Election Assistance Commission National Institute of Standards and Technology Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Certification of voting machines

References

External links Hart InterCivic company website Election Technology Council website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hart InterCivic

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hart InterCivic claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hart InterCivic before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hart InterCivic ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hart InterCivic

In research: Hart InterCivic appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hart InterCivic in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hart InterCivic is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Election technology companies, Electronic voting companies, Geographic information systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hart InterCivic outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Hart InterCivic” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Hart InterCivic in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hart InterCivic means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hart InterCivic out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hart InterCivic in simple terms?

Why does Hart InterCivic matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hart InterCivic?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hart InterCivic.