Boston-based Clear Ballot Group on Tuesday unveiled a new digital voting machine that could come in handy the next time election officials need to hold a recount.

Unlike other machines that merely count ink marks on paper ballots, the ClearCast voting machine scans and saves digital images of every ballot that can be inspected to make sure votes were counted correctly.

The system will also help election inspectors tally votes from improperly marked ballots. For example, a careless voter might circle a candidate’s name instead of filling in the oval next to the name. With ClearCast, inspectors won’t have to physically inspect thousands of paper ballots to spot the blunder.

“We’re trying to improve the back-end transparency for election officials, and the resolving of close races,’’ said Jordan Esten, chief operating officer.

Founded in 2009, Clear Ballot makes a system for counting mail-in ballots that’s used in Oregon, where elections are conducted exclusively by mail. ClearCast is the company’s first product for managing in-person voting.

Esten said that many electronic voting machines are 10 or more years old and are based on proprietary hardware that is often no longer manufactured. Last year, Wired magazine reported that some election officials have been forced to scour the online marketplace eBay in search of spare parts for old machines. ClearCast is based on standard personal computer hardware from Intel Corp.

The machines can be easily upgraded with faster processors and more memory to boost performance. For instance, Esten said the machine now needs about four seconds to scan each ballot. He hopes future versions with more powerful processing chips will work faster, to reduce long lines at polling places.

Don’t expect to see ClearCast in action this November. Each state must certify new voting technologies before they can be deployed, and it’s far too late to complete that process for the 2016 presidential election. Esten said his company will concentrate on getting certified; he hopes ClearCast will be approved for use in 15 to 20 states by January 2017. 

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com.