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.

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

            

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.

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.

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.

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

All participants completed surveys about their experience with both products.

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.