Demo will be available at State Fair
By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Poll workers no longer will have to flip through pages of signatures to check voters into the polls in Onondaga County. The board of elections unveiled its new electronic poll book system July 24. Voters will sign in and print their ballots from “poll pads” installed on iPads, and the system will be able to track voter wait times and prevent duplicate voting.
BOE Commissioners Dustin Czarny and Michele Sardo offered a demonstration of the new system July 24. Czarny, the Democratic commissioner, said the county is partnering with KNOWiNK and Dominion Voting Systems to convert all 179 of Onondaga County’s polling places and its six early voting sites to electronic poll books.
Czarny estimated the cost of the conversion between $750,000 and $1 million. It is entirely grant-funded, with money coming from the Localities and Capital Grants approved in the 2019-2020 New York state budget and money saved from the BOE’s Shoebox Grant.
“Michele and I have been working really hard at making this a possibility,” Czarny said.
The move to an electronic poll book system will save Onondaga County approximately $30,000 per general election in printing costs and will save about 1,000 worker hours, reducing overtime.
Republican Election Commissioner Michele Sardo said the poll pad system would not reduce the number of poll workers needed.
“We’ll keep the number of poll workers we have. This needs to go through a few election cycles [before staffing changes],” she said.
The BOE is looking for more election inspectors. Classes start Aug. 17. For more information, call 315-435-3331 or email [email protected].
KNOWiNK technology is used by 28 other states, Czarny said.
The poll pads’ “epulse” software automatically updates every 120 seconds, allowing the board of elections to track voter wait times, deal with ballot shortages and handle other possible malfunctions.
“We’ll be able to FaceTime into the poll sites and interact with a poll inspector instead of having to dispatch someone to get it fixed,” Czarny said.
The new system will not show voting results. As always, results will be available only after polls close, Czarny said. However, the epulse system will allow the BOE to notify campaigns who has already voted so campaign workers know not to call them.
Voters will be able to sign in with their name and address, as they have traditionally done with paper poll books, but they also will be able to scan their driver’s license or voting card from the BOE to check in.
“No ID will be required. This is just a fast-pass option,” Czarny said.
If their registration cannot be located, the poll pad can print an affidavit ballot. If a voter tries to check in at the wrong polling place, the system can print out or text message directions to the correct site.
Sardo said the BOE has ensured cybersecurity measures.
“We have hotspots that will be in each polling place. That’s our own Wi-Fi,” she said.
In addition, the BOE’s main database will not be connected to the system until data is imported from the polls after the election. Paper ballots are kept for two years just in case as well.
The BOE will offer live demonstrations of the poll pad system at the New York State Fair, with a sample ballot for visitors to vote on their favorite State Fair foods and attractions.
While most voters will get to experience the Poll Pads for the first time in the general election Nov. 5, voters in the town of Salina will get to sign in via the new system Aug. 13 when they vote on whether the town will eliminate the position of receiver of taxes.
To learn more about registering to vote, early polling places or more information, visit onvote.net or contact the Onondaga County Board of Elections at 315-435-8683.
