"Always wait until it says 'system ready' before you put in the next ballot," said a representative from LHS Associates as he walked the Board of Registrars of Voters through the new counting machines ahead of the April elections.

Lynn Medeiros smiled. It's a mistake she knows she'll see plenty of times on April 4.

As town clerk, Medeiros is charged with readying each ballot station, which includes testing the ballot counters before every election. Last year, the town purchased a new machine for each of the nine precincts, plus a few spares, said Medeiros. The machines will be implemented for the first time this April.

"The display on them is better, and they have a button on them for any issues," she said.

The lot of machines totaled about $75,000, said Medeiros, but it will make her job a lot easier. Like the older versions, the machine separates "write-in's" from "non-write-in's," but the inner workings of this machine are more decisive.

"[The other version] was a teeter-totter system inside. It wasn't as clean," she said. Medeiros said she will have to double check the ballots regardless, but the accuracy of the new machines will expedite the process.

The new machines also point out ambiguous marks, blanks, and over-votes.

"This is the beauty of this tabulator. It's not going to accept willy-nilly marks," said the representative, who preferred not to be named.

Medeiros, along with the board, tested each of the machines with 11 faux ballots. They tried everything they anticipated going wrong, such as placing ballots wrong-side-up, and not filling in choice circles thoroughly.

The task usually takes a few hours to finish, but because each machine must be set to a specific precinct for town election (as opposed to state elections, when everyone gets the same ballot), preparation could take longer, said Medeiros. Additionally, all counters must successfully pass all 11 test ballots.

"You've got to put the pins straight square," Medeiros said, trying to pass on instructions for inserting the computing chips. "Shiny side up," someone else echoed.

In addition to prepping the new machines, Medeiros readies for elections by collecting absentee ballots, entering in voters' registrations, and organizing poll workers.

Town elections will start at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, April 4. Polls will be open until 8 p.m. Visit www.town.dartmouth.ma.us for specific precinct and polling locations.