Brief Electronic Poll Books

Introduction

As states explore new technologies to facilitate the voting process, the use of electronic poll books is becoming increasingly prevalent. Traditionally, voting jurisdictions have had paper poll books that contain a list of eligible voters in the district or precinct. Electronic poll books, which typically come in the form of a laptop or tablet, have the ability to do much more than look up eligible voters. See the section below on What Can Electronic Poll Books Do?

Electronic Poll Books in the States

According to the 2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey, 36 states used electronic poll books in at least one jurisdiction in the 2018 elections. In total, 26.2% of jurisdictions nationwide reported using electronic poll books, representing a 48% increase in electronic poll book usage since the 2016 election.

State legislatures have responded to the increase in jurisdictions using electronic poll books in a number of ways. Some states have instituted a certification process for electronic poll booksimilar to the process for certifying voting equipment. Others have instituted statewide policies through administrative rule or by directive from the secretary of state's office. Some states have authorized electronic poll books and provided some procedural guidance for jurisdictions, and some have not addressed electronic poll books in statute.

As of 2024, electronic poll books have been authorized or are being used without statutory authorization in at least 42 states plus D.C. In summary:

• 15 states certify electronic poll books:
• Alabama, California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
• 14 states provide statewide procedures for electronic poll books but do not have a formal certification program:
• Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
• 13 states have statutes that authorize the use of electronic poll books but do not fall into the categories above:
• Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, , Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, , North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming.
• Four states do not have statutory authorization for electronic poll books, but they are being used by local jurisdictions:
• Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington
• Five states do not prohibit the use of electronic poll books, but they are not currently being used:
• Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Vermont
• Maine does not permit electronic poll books.

Additional details are found in Table 1 below.

What Can Electronic Poll Books Do?

There are a variety of electronic poll books on the market, and many jurisdictions design their own. An electronic poll book typically provides one or more of the following functions:

• Allows voters to sign in electronically.
• Allows poll workers to easily redirect voters in the wrong location to the correct polling place.
• Scans a driver's license to pull up a voter's information, avoiding data entry errors.
• Allows poll workers to look up voters from the entire county or state. This can reduce time spent checking in voters, one of the bottlenecks in the voting process.
• Allows real-time updates of voter history.
• Notifies poll workers if a voter already voted absentee or during the early voting period.
• Produces turnout numbers and lists of who voted.
• In states that have same-day registration, electronic poll books may be used to register voters.
• Uses a photo to verify a voter's identity. This could be a method to prevent voter fraud, but it is not yet in place anywhere.
• Electronic poll books in some states (Maryland and Indiana, for example) are networked and receive immediate updates on who has voted in other voting centers. Other states (Minnesota and Michigan, for example) specify that electronic poll books may not be connected to the network.

Things to Consider

Jurisdictions that consider using electronic poll books should also evaluate the following issues:

• Costs for purchase and maintenance.
• Safeguards against a cyber-attack altering information on the electronic poll book or disrupting the transmission of information.
• Physical security of electronic poll book equipment and the data it contains.
• Potential for a mass malfunction of electronic poll books, whether by chance or deliberate attack, leading some jurisdictions to keep a paper poll book on hand.
• Challenge of training poll workers on a new technology.