Illinois: McHenry County clerk: Election Day communication issues are being addressed | Daily Herald

McHenry County Clerk Mary McClellan promised to improve future elections after a State Board of Elections review concluded some eligible voters may not have been able to cast their ballots on Election Day in March. In a memo released last month, Kenneth Menzel, general counsel for the board of elections, detailed two main issues with the general primary in McHenry County: Communication problems and glitches in the electronic poll books that allow election officials to review voter data. “Neither of these issues impacted the ballot tabulation operations, and we have not found anything that calls into question the accuracy of the vote totals processed and reported,” Menzel said. “The issues may, however, have resulted in some eligible or potentially eligible voters not casting ballots.”

Illinois: Elections board IDs McHenry County 2016 primary problems | Northwest Herald

The issues that plagued the March 15 primary in McHenry County might have led to some eligible voters not casting their ballots, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections’ report. The report was requested by state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, who was not alone in demanding answers after an Election Day many felt was full of problems. McSweeney, who provided the memo to the Northwest Herald on Thursday after receiving it from the state board of elections, said the report was disconcerting. “It was an absolute fiasco,” McSweeney said after receiving the report. “I’m concerned, and I think there should be changes so that never happens again. … That’s the most basic American right – to vote.”

Wyoming: Cheyenne officials: New voting procedures a success | Wyoming Tribune Eagle

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.

Ohio: Board: More than one problem plagued Hamilton Co. polling places – Vendor error left out 11,000 voters | WLWT

The search for answers to the voting problems in Hamilton County a week ago has lead to both machine and man., Election leaders said they believe there is some degree of blame to assign all around. Tuesday, as they attempt to get a deeper understanding of what went wrong, they are trying to zero in on how to ensure that repairs are made in time for the March and November elections next year. In the aftermath of significant problems, they know there were computer programming mistakes, equipment failures and human error. What they don’t yet know is what percentage to give to each. “We knew there would be problems that day,” said Alex Triantafilou, who is a member of the elections board. “I was concerned just about this new technology.” … Officials said the first major problem was in the programming of the computer system.

Ohio: Will Ohio vote glitches get fixed by 2016? | USA Today

The votes still were being counted late Tuesday at Hamilton County’s board of elections when officials there began to talk about next year. It was not a pleasant conversation. The delays, mistakes and technological glitches that plagued Tuesday’s vote caused headaches for everyone involved in the process. But election officials know that’s nothing compared to the epic migraine they’d get if those errors are repeated next fall, during a presidential election that could hinge on Ohio and Hamilton County. If an election featuring a few statewide issues and local tax levies could bring so much pain, it wasn’t hard for the people in charge of elections here to imagine what would happen if the stakes were higher. Armies of lawyers and political operatives would roll into town. Wolf Blitzer might go live from Fountain Square. It might not be Florida’s hanging chads, but it wouldn’t be pretty. “We’re in a crucial state in a presidential election year and we’ve got to get it right,” said Alex Triantafilou, a board of elections member and the chairman of the county GOP. “There’s no sugarcoating it,” he said of Tuesday’s vote. “Last night was a disaster, and we need to fix it.”

Ohio: Husted: Lack of preparation for poll workers led to tech glitch | Associated Press

Some voters reported problems with new e-poll voter signature books at a handful of precincts on Tuesday morning. Officials said that, as always, when voters check in, the poll workers check their names against the voter registration information. The e-poll books were supposed to make that process easier, and officials said they do when they work. Problems were reported to WLWT News 5 by voters at more than a half-dozen different locations by 7:30 a.m. Some voters said that workers stopped allowing voting to take place, while others said workers stacked the completed voting sheets to wait for further word on what to do.

Ohio: Problems, delays at 10 polling stations | Cincinnati Inquirer

The launch of Hamilton County’s new electronic voter sign-in system hit some snags Tuesday as voters and poll workers in several polling locations struggled with the technology. The trouble was severe enough in 10 of the county’s 364 polling places that workers had to resort to the old paper poll books to sign in voters. The problems were not isolated to those locations, however, as voters in several other spots around the county complained they were given provisional ballots when their names did not appear on the electronic registry. “That’s unacceptable,” said Joseph Brotzge, a Loveland man who voted provisionally after poll workers could not find his name at the polling place where he has voted for 30 years. “It tells me they did poor planning. This is not the type of experience one wants to have.” … Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said the problems were likely the result of human error, rather than the fault of the new technology. Husted, who stopped by one of the county’s busiest polling places in St. Bernard early Tuesday, said the new system is working well overall and voters are generally happy with it.

Indiana: State election report blames humans, not computers for Porter County snafus | Chesterton Tribune

The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office on Friday said Porter County’s new electronic poll books are not to blame for the technical problems reported in this past May’s municipal primary elections. Instead, a report conducted by the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) attributes the snafus to poll workers, poor internet connection at polling locations, ballot counting machine failures, router failures, “confusing” voter tally sheets and “inadequate” poll worker training. A summary of the report was released Friday along with a statement issued from Secretary of State Connie Lawson. VSTOP is tasked with documenting issues with equipment sold to counties by vendors and making recommendations relevant for the functioning of that equipment.

Ohio: Electronic poll books will be at voting locations across the state by November 2016 | Cleveland Plain Dealer

Electronic poll books will soon replace the paper books precinct workers use to check in registered voters during elections. Pat McDonald, director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said he and other directors are elated to jettison the paper books, which is possible because the state will pay 85 percent of the cost. Elections boards are meeting with vendors and expect to have the technology in place by the presidential election in 2016, officials said. The new state budget included a $12.7 million appropriation for e-books, which will be distributed to the 88 counties based on percentage of registered voters.

Wyoming: House committee clears e-pollbooks, vote centers | Wyoming Tribune Eagle

A House committee gave its approval Tuesday to a bill that would allow county clerks to begin using electronic pollbooks and vote centers instead of traditional polling places on Election Day. Senate File 52 would allow county clerks to replace their existing paper pollbooks with electronic books for the purposes of keeping track of who is registered to vote, who has voted and where they voted. With electronic pollbooks, clerks would also be able to open “vote centers,” or polling places where anyone in a given jurisdiction can vote on Election Day, regardless of where they live within that jurisdiction. The idea of the bill is to provide better access to voters, particularly for jurisdictions where some far-flung polling places are having trouble staying open due to a lack of election judges. It also, in the case of elementary schools, would help alleviate any safety concerns about interaction between schoolchildren and the voting public.

Kansas: New E-pollbooks ready to launch | Emporia Gazette

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.”

Minnesota: State gets ready for electronic voting roster test run as officials examine costs, benefits | Star Tribune

Voters who show up at some Minnesota polling places next month will encounter sign-in stations equipped with iPads or bar code scanners as part of an experiment designed to test whether more technology would cut wait times, save money and inspire more confidence in the election process. The electronic roster, or e-poll book, pilot project will take place in fewer than 10 cities and counties, but the results are being closely monitored by election officials across the state because lawmakers could broaden the technology’s use — if the price is right. On that score, a task force of lawmakers, elections administrators and others watching over the project met Wednesday to discuss programming challenges, hardware costs and data security. “We’re not rushing into this,” said Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, the state’s chief elections official. The rosters are an alternative to paper sign-in sheets at precincts. They contain the same type of information: registration data, an indication if someone already voted or has had a challenged registration status.

South Dakota: Secretary of State Gant: E-Poll Books Prevent Voter Fraud | Keloland.com

An investigation is underway in Mitchell after Tuesday’s school board election. Craig Guymon, 54, has been arrested, charged and released on bond on a felony charge of voter fraud. Guymon ran for school board in Mitchell as recently as last year, he even filed a lawsuit contesting the election results after he lost. Now he’s accused of double voting but Secretary of State Jason Gant says an investigation into that case could have been avoided with the new electronic poll books he is working to roll out across the state. All it takes is a scan of a driver’s license to confirm a voter’s registration and if that person has already cast a ballot. “That’s why vote centers and electronic poll books are definitely the way to go, not only break down the barriers and allow more people to vote, but also to ensure no one can vote twice,” Gant said.

Ohio: Husted touts e-pollbooks in Dayton | Dayton Daily News

Secretary of State Jon Husted made a brief stop at a Dayton polling location about 10 a.m. Tuesday to highlight use of e-pollbooks for elections. The technology is currently in use in 11 counties. Montgomery County has used the e-pollbooks, which resemble an electronic tablet with a card reader, for six elections. The e-pollbooks are used as part of the sign-in identification process at the polls.

Ohio: Electronic poll books seem conceptually simple but may be vulnerable to hacking and cyber attacks, experts say | cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County elections officials plan to experiment with electronic poll books to verify the registration of in-person voters despite warnings that the devices are vulnerable to hacking and even politically motivated cyber attacks. Two experts contacted by The Plain Dealer said the so-called e-poll books also have spotty performance records in several places where they have been tested and could be especially challenging for Cuyahoga County because of its larger number of voters and past troubles with new election technology. “E-poll books are similar to other computer-based technologies in voting – full of promise and lousy execution in most locations,” said Candice Hoke, a Cleveland State University law professor and an authority on laws governing election technologies. “Our counties should be extremely chary of adopting them, but definitely a pilot project is a good way to proceed.”