Voters will try new equipment at check-in for early voting primary for 95th House District starting Friday
When early voting starts Friday in the primary election for
the District 95th district seat in the Tennessee House of
Representatives, voters will have the chance to try out some new equipment that
the Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC)is considering purchasing in the
future.
The test run is for “Poll Pads,” stock i-Pads configured
with special technology, and are being provided by St. Louis-based “KnowInk.”
Members of the media are invited to the Operations Center at
980 Nixon Dr. Wednesday morning between 10 and 11:30 to preview the equipment. This
is not open to the public, though if plans move forward for purchase, a public
demonstration will be held in the future.
Voters will notice the equipment when they are checking in
before going to a machine, and not just because it looks different, but because
it speeds up the check-in process. The time-consuming part of voting usually
isn’t making selections.
“Most voters have an idea who they want to vote for before
they get to the machines,” said Linda Phillips, administrator of elections for
the Shelby County Election Commission. Checking in before being given a card
and directed to a machine is where the wait time usually comes into play.
With the current equipment, it takes poll workers between
3-1/2 to 4 minutes to check each voter in, which involves verifying identity
and getting them to sign the Application for Ballot.
While the poll pads have the capability of allowing voters
to sign electronically, paper affidavits will be printed for the voters to
sign. The print process requires much less paper and is also performed much
more expediently.
The poll pads’ technology scans in the voters’ Tennessee ID,
or handgun carry permit, which brings up the information on a screen, making
the identity verification process quick and easy.
The check-in time with using a poll pad is about 90 seconds
per voter, which will trim down wait times substantially during big elections.
The equipment will also be used on the Primary Election Day.
Courtesy Suzanne Thompson Cozza
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