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

Voting Just Became Easier with E-Poll Books

Beginning with the May 2 election, voters will now be checked into their polling location with e-poll books. While this will not change how voters cast their vote (paper ballots will still be used), e-poll books will speed up the check in process and provide other great benefits to both voters and election officials.

Voters who would like to preview the technology before Election Day are invited to attend demonstrations being held at local libraries throughout this week. Click here to view schedule.

Local libraries to host e-poll book demonstrations

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has partnered with Cuyahoga County Public Libraries and other local libraries to give voters a sneak peek at e-poll books before their debut during the May 2 Primary Election.

On Election Day, voters will now check into their polling location by signing an electronic touch pad rather than a paper poll book. The check-in process will be much quicker since a voter’s information can be found instantly by scanning their driver’s license or using an easy search tool. Additionally, voters can visit any line rather than waiting to be checked into their specific precinct.

Any voter who wishes to see the new technology before Election Day is invited to visit their local library during the following dates and times when staff from the Board of Elections will have the e-poll books on display.

Library Address Event Date Event Time
Southeast 70 Columbus Road
Bedford, Ohio 44146
April 27 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Brecksville 9089 Brecksville Road
Brecksville, Ohio 44141
April 24 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Brooklyn 4480 Ridge Road
Brooklyn, Ohio 44144
April 27 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Chagrin Falls 100 East Orange Street
Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022
April 21 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Fairview Park 21255 Lorain Road
Fairview Park, Ohio 44126
April 20 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Independence 6361 Selig Drive
Independence, Ohio 44131
April 25 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Maple Heights 5225 Library Lane
Maple Heights, Ohio 44137
April 26 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
North Royalton 5071 Wallings Road
North Royalton, Ohio 44133
April 26 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Parma 6996 Powers Boulevard
Parma, Ohio 44129
April 19 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Parma Heights 6206 Pearl Road
Parma Heights, Ohio 44130
April 17 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Parma Snow 2121 Snow Road
Parma, Ohio 44134
April 18 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Rocky River Library 1600 Hampton Road
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
April 19 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Shaker Heights Library 16500 Van Aken Blvd
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
April 25 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Westlake Library 27333 Center Ridge Road
Westlake, OH 44145
April 19 3:00 – 5:30 p.m

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E-poll books to be used for May’s Primary Election

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voted today to purchase 1,450 electronic poll books (e-poll books) from Tenex Software Solutions of Tampa, Florida.

“After 18 months of rigorous research, testing, and several pilot projects I am confident we have made the right decision for the system that is most appropriate for Cuyahoga County voters,” said Pat McDonald the Director of the Board of Elections.

E-poll books will eventually replace the alphabetical paper poll books that are printed for each election. Voters will be able to use their Ohio driver’s licenses or identification cards to check in at polling locations or to be directed to their correct polling place.

“Voters will receive faster service while lowering the chances of human error. The new e-poll books will make other election administration functions, including updating voter records, faster and more efficient,” said McDonald.

Most of the $1.7 million cost of the machines will be paid for by a $12 million state program that encouraged voting jurisdictions to upgrade to e-poll books.

The board plans to phase in fully functioning e-poll books starting with the Primary Election on May 2, 2017.

tenex

Author: Mike West, Media and Voter Education Specialist, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

Coming soon: e-poll books

Hundreds of voters and poll workers came down to the Board of Elections (BOE) on Tuesday to catch a first glimpse of electronic (e-) poll books during a mock election.

What’s all the excitement about, you ask? Paper poll books are becoming a thing of the past as voting jurisdictions in 32 states have already made the switch to e-poll books. This new technology expedites the voter check-in process, improves election reporting, saves money (and trees for that matter!), alerts poll workers if the voter already voted or is at the wrong location, and provides many other benefits to both voters and boards of elections.

E-Poll Book

Cuyahoga County is on track to implement e-poll books at all voting locations for the 2017 General Election. With such an important decision on the table, we wanted to give our staff, poll workers, board members and voters the opportunity to test drive e-poll books from Tenex and KNOWiNK, the two companies we are deciding between. Hence, the mock election!

Just how does a mock election work?

Leading up to (Mock) Election Day, both vendors trained staff how to use their e-poll book equipment. Hundreds of voting scenarios were created and divided into envelopes containing the voter’s name, form of I.D., political party choice, and scenario instructions. Our goal was recreate any potential check-in possible to see how the equipment handles various situations. For instance, the voter changed their name without updating their registration, they are at the wrong polling location, they do not have the proper form of I.D., no issues, etc.

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On (Mock) Election Day, members of staff took turns playing the roles of poll workers and voters to experience each product from both perspectives. Staff also went through the motions of setting up and tearing down the equipment just as if they were at a polling location on Election Day.

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After our initial test run, we held an open house for the public to try out the e-poll books.

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All participants completed surveys about their experience with both products.

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Outcome

Overall, the mock election was a fun and informative way to try out two kinds of e-poll books. Some of our staff weighed in on what they thought of this terrific day:

“My favorite part of the day was seeing how many voters actually came and how excited they were. I enjoyed seeing our poll workers having fun with the e-poll books and even jumping in to help staff manage the lines and survey table,” said Shantiel Soeder, Election and Compliance Administrator, who has been leading this initiative from the start.

“Our staff became more knowledgeable about the e-poll books and their confidence really grew as the day went on. It was cool to see their excitement, and it goes to show the technology is easy to learn and use,” said Sean Webster, Business Administration Manager.

“I love that our poll workers and voters were eager to experience the new technology and see how it will benefit the voting process,” said Ruth Rachel Przybojewski, Supervisor, Poll Worker Department.

The Board of Directors will choose between Tenex and KNOWiNK based on the recommendation from staff in the weeks to come.

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Shantiel Soeder, Election and Compliance Administrator and leader of the e-poll book initiative, pictured with Dennis Anderson, Community Outreach Manager as they greet voters during the mock election