E-poll books will be used in this November’s Municipal General Election in Marshall County.
The county council Monday morning approved an additional appropriation for the purchase of 15 iPads at a cost of $35,010. The appropriation was advertised prior to the council’s unanimous approval. The iPads will be outfitted with the necessary software to be used for voters to sign in at the polls.
E-poll books are being considered for Marshall County.
Steve Shamo from KnowInk demonstrated how the digital process would work to the Marshall County Council members Monday morning. A driver’s license or a legal state I.D. card is scanned, and the voter’s information comes up on the screen. The voter then provides a signature on the screen. Once the signatures are compared, a receipt is printed, and the voter takes that receipt to a poll worker who then sets up a ballot for voting purposes.
The council members asked questions about connectivity issues. Shamo explained that WiFi or an internet hot spot would need to be on site in order for the software to function. Clerk Deb Vandemark said seven of the 14 precinct voting locations do offer WiFi service. A password would need to be obtained for the poll workers to use the service. A plan would need to be formulated to find internet connectivity for the other locations.
The Marshall County Council members will continue a discussion into the purchase of e-poll books when they meet this morning.
During the council’s last meeting in March, Clerk Deb Vandemark explained that 15 iPads would be purchased for placement at all of the voting sites for the purpose of signing in voters at the polls. There are 14 poll sites for the county’s 29 precincts. One extra iPad would be on hand as a backup. The purchase price is $32,225 which is not included in the clerk’s budget for this year.
