Contact: Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969 Hennepin
County Elections, 612-348-5151
Hennepin County elections officials will check-in voters using a secure e-poll book system in all Hennepin County cities except Minneapolis. The city of Minneapolis will change to an electronic check-in process in 2017.
Hennepin County is one of two counties in the state to use this
technology. E-poll books are iPads that have voter rolls electronically loaded
on them. They replace the paper check-in process. All election judges are
trained to use the new system and successfully used them during the primary
election on August 9.
Voters in 43 Hennepin County cities will experience the
following differences:
- Voters can choose any line to
check-in. They no longer need to find a specific line designated by their
last name.
- Election judges will check-in
registered voters via iPad, rather than paper binders.
- Election judges will register
new voters via iPad, rather than paper forms.
- Voters will sign their name on
a small slip of paper, rather than in the binder
E-poll
books have been pilot tested in multiple past elections in Hennepin County,
including in Minnetonka, and other Minnesota counties including Ramsey, Dakota,
St. Louis, Crow Wing, and Blue Earth counties.
Benefits to voters:
- Increased voter privacy
- More accurate check-in process
- Efficient check-in and
registration
Benefits to elections officials:
- More accurate registration and
check-in – e-poll book system prevents voters accidentally signing in on
wrong line, election day registration information is captured
electronically
- Helps election judges by
walking through each step of the check-in or registration process
- Decreased administrative work
after election is complete to transfer
- More efficient check-in – no
need to flip through pages of voter rosters
Paper records will be available at all polling places as
back-up. Election judges will only use the paper back-ups in the case of
technical difficulties.
The voter registration information in the e-poll books is never
connected to the ballot counting machines or results reporting process. The two
systems function independently and never transfer information among each
other.
On average, each polling place has four e-poll books, but that
varies by the size of the precinct.
Across the country, jurisdictions in 32 states currently
use e-poll books. Hennepin County’s specific e-poll book product, the KNOWiNK
Poll Pad, has been used in 12 states and over 60 counties across the
country.
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