Cheyenne was the guinea pig for the rollout of both vote centers and electronic pollbooks in Wyoming on Tuesday. Based on the outcome, government officials are confident the systems will be successful as they are implemented countywide and statewide in future elections. Both processes are enabled by new legislation passed earlier this year by the Wyoming Legislature. They are designed to make the voting process more efficient and available to voters. Vote centers refer to a network of polling locations that allow voters choice in where to vote. Instead of voting at a specific precinct, voters can vote at any of the centers.
Electronic pollbooks, or e-pollbooks, store voter registration information digitally and are necessary if vote centers are used. The e-pollbooks also expedite the check-in process for voters.
Laramie County Clerk Debbye Lathrop, who oversaw Tuesday’s special election, said she heard voters liked both the vote centers and the new e-pollbooks. “They found the entire process to be very quick and easy,” she said.
Cheyenne’s election, in which voters soundly rejected a change to a city administrator form of government, had a total of nine vote centers scattered throughout the city. Each vote center used e-pollbooks that had voter registration records for Laramie County.
Full Article: Cheyenne officials: New voting procedures a success | WyomingNews.com.