Bright future for e-poll books after successful launch

The e-poll books were the star of the show during the May Primary Election. We are happy to report the transition from paper poll books to e-poll books was seamless.

Voter records are quickly found by scanning a driver’s license. This simulation was done during a demonstration.

“The e-poll books performed so well that I am very confident in the devices as we plan for their use in the larger September Primary and November General Election,” said Pat McDonald, Director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Excellent Feedback from Voters and Election Officials
Our research shows that the poll workers were comfortable with the new system and they received very positive comments from voters. A survey of election officials was conducted as part of our election administration. According to the results, 95% said e-poll books were easy to use and 98% said they are an improvement over paper poll books.

The voters had good things to report as well, with 92% saying they had a positive or very positive experience when using them to check in.

Voters will now sign electronically rather than on paper.

Additional Benefits
E-poll books provided the advantage of having access to real-time information concerning set-up and voting during the election. Back at the Board of Elections, our computers were able to communicate with all of the e-poll books. Staff was able to confirm that all of the machines were powered up and ready for voters by 6:30 a.m. If there was a problem, calls to the locations could be made or rovers could be quickly dispatched to the locations that needed help.

The need to call polling locations to try to get an idea of voter turnout during the election has also been eliminated. We were able to see exactly how many people had cast ballots at any time. For the first time we were able to have exact turnout reports instead of relying on estimates.

Post-election duties are now more efficient. The new poll books save time when performing voter history. Instead of weeks of scanning the paper poll books, the units can provide that information electronically.

We salute everyone on staff who had a role in this transition that has taken two years to complete. A big thanks to Shantiel Soeder and Jason Culik on staff who worked under tight deadlines to make sure the machines and the election officials were ready to go on the big day.

Still haven’t seen the new technology?
We will be demonstrating the new technology throughout the summer months at various libraries throughout the City of Cleveland. View the schedule below. Additional dates and times may be added.

Date Time Location
Thursday, June 29, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Fleet Branch
7224 Broadway Avenue
Cleveland, 44105
Thursday, July 06, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Glenville Branch
11900 St. Clair Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44108
Tuesday, July 11  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Addison Branch
6901 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103
Thursday, July 13, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. East 131st Street Branch
3830 East 131st Street
Cleveland, OH 44120
Tuesday, July 18, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastmon Branch
11602 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111
Thursday, July 20, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Garden Valley Branch
7201 Kinsman Road, Suite #101
Cleveland, OH 44104
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 10:30 – 12:00 p.m. Fulton Branch
3545 Fulton Road
Cleveland, OH 44109
Tuesday, July 25, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. South Brooklyn Branch
4303 Pearl Road
Cleveland, OH 44109
Thursday, July 27, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Harvard Lee Branch
16918 Harvard Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44128
Tuesday, August 01, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Langston Hughes Branch
10200 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
Tuesday, August 01, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Carnegie West Branch
1900 Fulton Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tuesday, August 08, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Memorial-Nottingham Branch
17109 Lake Shore Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44110
Tuesday, August 08, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. South Branch
2704 Clark Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44109
Thursday, August 10, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Mt. Pleasant Branch
14000 Kinsman Road
Cleveland, OH 44120
Tuesday, August 15, 2017  2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Rockport Branch
4421 West 140th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135