Lyon County election officer Tammy Vopat and deputy election officer Heather Dill recently finished training roughly 80 poll workers on the county’s new E-pollbooks. The books will change the way that voters sign in before entering the voting booth, but in a very minor way. Instead of signing a piece of paper, they will be putting their signature on an electronic pad. Just like the paper version, the new system will simply record that a person voted, not what ballot they received or who they voted for. “The main thing that I want to let the voter know is that we do have new equipment, and actually the only change that the voter will see is when they sign their name,” Vopat said. “It won’t be on paper, it will be on one of the electronic signature pads.”
The purchase of the 32 E-pollbooks came from mostly federal funds that accounted for 90 percent of the total, the cost to the county was $6,000.
Federal monies came through the Help America Vote Act of 2002 which was intended to help states meet standards in election administration. The funds trickle down through the states and then to counties so they are better equipped to meet the requirements of HAVA. The machines will be at all precincts in the county from August forward.
Full Article: New E-pollbooks ready to launch – Emporia Gazette: Latest News And Features.