Poll Pads
A Poll Pad is an electronic roster used by election judges to check voters in at the polling place. It provides election workers with access to voter information and helps them complete the check-in process accurately and efficiently. Dakota County has extensive experience with Poll Pads, having used them successfully and effectively in 26 elections since 2018.
Poll Pads are critical technology
Poll Pads are a critical piece of election technology because voter check-in is the first step in the voting process. Before a ballot can be cast, election judges need to properly identify voter eligibility, process the voter and provide them with the correct ballot.
Poll Pads help with verification
Poll Pads help election judges:
- Locate a voter's registration record.
- Verify voter information and eligibility.
- Complete the voter check-in process.
- Help determine the correct ballot.
- Capture the voter's signature.
- Identify situations that require additional processing, such as when a voter’s address has not been verified. The voter is then required to answer questions under oath about where they live before being allowed to vote.
- Help determine whether a voter is at the correct polling location.
Poll Pads are not ballot tabulators
Poll Pads do not count votes. They are separate from the equipment used to tabulate ballots. The Poll Pad and ballot tabulator serve different purposes. The Poll Pad handles the voter check-in process. The tabulator handles the ballot-counting process. The ballot tabulator is important because it counts the ballot. The Poll Pad is important because it helps make sure we are giving the right ballot to the right voter. You need both parts of the system to run a well-administered election.
Benefits of Poll Pads
While they can make check-in faster, Poll Pads’ importance goes beyond convenience. Electronic rosters reduce manual work for election judges and can reduce human error at voter check-in.
Election judges process a large number of voters, often in a relatively short period of time. Poll Pads can quickly locate voter records and complete the necessary steps to check voters in. Electronic rosters can also help election judges determine whether a voter is at the correct polling place and verify voter information and eligibility.
If a voter visits the wrong polling place, Poll Pads help election judges direct the voter to the appropriate polling location based on their residential address. A return to paper rosters could make it more difficult for election judges to verify that voters are directed to the correct polling place.
Poll Pads allow for a more flexible check-in process. With paper rosters, voters may need to get in the line associated with the portion of the alphabet where their name appears. With Poll Pads, election judges can access voter records electronically, so voters don't need to be assigned to a particular judge based on the first letter of their last name. That means any election judge can help any voter, which allows the polling place to better distribute the workload and can help reduce lines.
A major benefit of Poll Pads is the amount of time it takes to locate a voter. Instead of manually searching through pages of names on a paper roster, an election judge can search electronically for the voter. That significantly reduces time spent locating a voter and allows the election judge to spend more time helping the voter. A faster check-in also means shorter lines.
These devices do contain private data and protecting that data is of utmost importance to Dakota County. A paper roster contains information about every registered voter in that precinct. When election judges are using a paper roster, a voter standing at the check-in table may be looking at a document containing the names and other information of their neighbors. With a Poll Pad, the election judge accesses only one voter's record at a time.
Poll Pads keep a tally of the voters who have been checked in. At the end of the night, that number will quickly and easily be compared with the number of ballots processed by the tabulator, ensuring that the numbers are identical. This quickly confirms that each ballot cast at a polling place is associated with a voter who signed the electronic roster.
With a paper roster, election judges would have to count the signatures on the roster to determine how many voters were processed. With an electronic roster, the system maintains that tally for the judges.
All absentee ballots are tracked individually and linked to a voter in Minnesota’s voter registration database. Once a ballot is accepted, if that voter tries to vote again, the election official or election judge will see that the voter already has an accepted ballot. Rosters in the polling place are updated throughout election day as more absentee ballots are accepted.
With an electronic roster, absentee information is quickly and accurately incorporated into the electronic voter record. If paper rosters are being used, election judges must be contacted at the polling place and instructed to manually mark the appropriate voter's line with "A.B." This pulls the election judges away from their critical task of serving voters and increases the risk of human error if the wrong voter record is recorded.
Poll Pads are reliable, secure
Electronic Poll Pads are safe, reliable and secure. Since Poll Pads were implemented countywide in 2018, Dakota County has not experienced any cases of fraud, security breaches, or related issues. Poll Pad devices are behind security walls that help prevent unauthorized access.
Poll Pads tested, certified regularly
Every Poll Pad is updated, tested and certified before every election. Dakota County Elections Department tests and certifies that Poll Pads meet all the state requirements at least 30 days prior to every election. Cities and townships that use the equipment test the system as well.
Poll Pads are regulated differently than ballot tabulators. Since electronic rosters are not considered voting equipment, they are not subject to the same federal certification or testing. They are certified to the functionality and security requirements listed in state statute. The legal requirements are very specific for electronic poll book certification, requiring a standalone mock election that recreates circumstances in which the system must perform. The county tests every aspect of Poll Pad operation, including downloading roster files, checking in a variety of voters uploading the files and processing them in the state’s voter registration system practice environment. Like our ballot counters, we test beyond the legal requirements.
Why we don’t just return to paper rosters
This discussion involves more than simply choosing between two ways of looking up a name. The two systems require different processes, training, equipment and contingency planning.
There are also operational concerns with paper rosters, including:
- Longer voter lines.
- More manual work for election judges.
- Greater opportunity for human error.
- More difficulty determining whether voters are at the correct polling place.
Backup plans for Poll Pads
Election officials always have contingency procedures for technology problems. Sealed paper rosters are delivered to each polling place and can easily be used if there is a power, connectivity, equipment or other technology issue.
Source of Poll Pads
Poll Pads used in Minnesota were developed and configured by KnowInk, an election technology company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.
Poll Pads ensure accurate check-in
The voter experience starts at the check-in table. When a voter walks into a polling place, the first thing that happens is not the counting of their ballot. It is the process of verifying and checking them in. Accurate elections require an accurate check-in process. Poll Pads are a critical tool for accomplishing that.