Brief Electronic Poll Books | e-Poll Books

Introduction

As states explore new technologies to facilitate the voting process, the use of electronic poll books (e-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. E-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 E-Poll Books Do?

E-Poll Books in the States

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

State legislatures have responded to the increase in jurisdictions using e-poll books in a number of ways. Some states have instituted a certification process for e-poll books similar 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 e-poll books and provided some procedural guidance for jurisdictions, and some have not addressed e-poll books in statute.

As of October 2019, e-poll books have been authorized or are being used without statutory authorization in at least 41 states plus D.C. In summary:

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

Additional details are found in Table 1 below.

What Can E-Poll Books Do?

There are a variety of e-poll books on the market, and many jurisdictions design their own. An e-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, e-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.
• E-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 e-poll books may not be connected to the network.

Things to Consider

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

• Costs for purchase and maintenance.
• Safeguards against a cyber-attack altering information on the e-poll book or disrupting the transmission of information.
• Physical security of e-poll book equipment and the data it contains.
• Potential for a mass malfunction of e-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.

Recent Action

2019

• New York enacted AB 2005 permitting a "computer generated registration list" to be used in lieu of paper poll books at polling places, and requiring the state board of elections to set minimum security standards and approve devices used for this purpose.
• Texas enacted HB 4130 requiring the secretary of state to prescribe requirements and standards for certification of e-poll books.
• New Jersey enacted AB 5159 authorizing e-poll books in place of the paper poll book. E-poll books must have the same functionality provided by paper records and must be certified by the secretary of state.
• Nevada enacted SB 123, which required counties or cities to test e-poll books for functionality in accordance with regulations adopted by the secretary of state. E-poll books had previously been used, but without any formal guidance or regulation from the state.
• Delaware purchased a new statewide voting system, which included e-poll books statewide.
• South Dakota enacted HB 1027 requiring a paper backup for polling locations using e-poll books.
• Indiana enacted SB 570 placing additional physical and cyber security safeguards on e-poll books. 

2018

• Michigan enacted HB 4734 requiring cities and townships to use the electronic poll book software developed by the state bureau of elections on Election Day to process voters and generate election precinct reports.
• Indiana enacted SB 327 which allows counties to apply for reimbursement from the state for expenditures made to secure and monitor facilities where e-poll books are stored.
• Iowa enacted HF 516 to establish a revolving loan fund to help jurisdictions purchase e-poll books and other polling place technologies.
• Nebraska LB 1065 updated requirements for e-poll books (which had been authorized previously) to contain a list of registered voters and the sign-in register combined in one database, and to include digital signatures for the registered voters of the precinct.
• Rhode Island rolled out e-poll books statewide after a successful pilot program in 2016. The state purchased e-poll books for all of its jurisdictions.

2017

• New Hampshire enacted SB 113 establishing a pilot program for e-poll books.
• Minnesota created a Voting Equipment Grant Account as part of the State Government Omnibus Finance Bill (Article 3, Section 17) and allocated $7 million to the grant (Article 1, Section 6, Subd. 5). A political subdivision is eligible to receive up to 75% of the cost of e-poll book equipment and up to 50% the cost of voting equipment.