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Digital poll book declared a winner
Minnetonka tested electronic registration and voter check-in at two polling places, with rave reviews; the digital method holds promise for future elections, officials say.
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Two Minnetonka precincts ran the state's first pilot tests using electronic poll books and electronic voter registration on Tuesday, and both got rave reviews from election workers.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who visited the polling places to check out the technology, said it could have been a big help in last fall's elections, which saw both high turnout and heavy Election Day registration.
Minnetonka City Clerk David Maeda commissioned the tests to see whether the technology, already in use in several states, could speed up check-in and registration and cut election costs. Election judges at a precinct at Cross of Glory Baptist Church, 4600 Shady Oak Road -- who tested two poll books and a registration station -- thought it would.
"It's just wonderful," said election judge Bonnie Carlson. "The efficiency, speed, the accuracy -- there are so many good things to say about it."
The devices, which are laptop computers, cost about $2,000 each. Each poll book was loaded with a database of all registered voters in the precinct before it was taken to the polling place. The poll books are connected to each other, so no one can vote twice, but the poll books are not connected to the Internet, Maeda said.
When voters come in and give their names, election judges type in the first few letters until the name pops up on the laptop screen, saving a search through paper poll books. The machine prints out a voter receipt and keeps a running tally of voters.
Those registering to vote at a polling place on Election Day can expedite registration by allowing their driver's license to be scanned. The name, address and birthdate are instantly transferred to a database and a printed form that the registrant signs and presents for a ballot.
Last fall, the precinct had more than 500 new registrants on Election Day, and the electronic technology would have been helpful, Maeda said.
The city will now have to weigh the cost and benefits before deciding whether to invest in the poll books, he said.
Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711
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