Technology

in Elections

April 2010
1The Quick Start Management Guide on Technology in Elections

The Quick Start Management Guide on 

Technology in Elections is part of a series 

of brochures designed to highlight and 

summarize the information contained in the 

chapters of the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission’s (EAC) Election Management 

Guidelines (EMG). The goal of the EMG 

is to provide a collection of administrative 

practices, consolidated into one document, 

to assist State and local election officials 

to effectively manage and administer 

elections. These guidelines are designed 

solely to serve as a source of information for 

election officials. However, due to the need 

for election management resources, Quick 

Starts are released as they are completed.

The content of the EMG and the Quick Start 

Management Guides has been developed in 

collaboration with State and local election 

officials and other election professionals 

who have first-hand experience managing 

elections. The EAC is grateful for their 

participation to ensure that the guidelines 

are practical and applicable for jurisdictions 

regardless of their size and resources. The 

EMG and the Quick Starts are available 

online at www.eac.gov.

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The Quick Start Management Guide on Technology in Elections

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Introduction

 • Voting has changed over the years. 

 While Americans may have made 

 selections for office by voice vote in the

 past, voters now use optical scan 

 machines, paper ballots, and direct 

 recording electronic (DRE) voting 

 machines to cast ballots today. 

 • The technology for administering 

 elections has changed as well. States 

 have implemented statewide electronic 

 voter registration databases to manage 

 their voter rolls. Many jurisdictions have 

 incorporated new technologies into 

 their processes and procedures in order 

 to administer elections more efficiently. 

 • Advances in technology can yield great 

 benefits to those who use them

 correctly. The Quick Start Management 

 Guide on Technology in Elections aims 

 to make these advances accessible to 

 election officials across the country, by 

 explaining innovative uses for 

 technology in the elections office and 

 the voting process. The Guide also 

 includes tips for how to manage cost, 

 maintenance and replacement of 

 technology. 

Technology in the Elections Office

 • Voter registration can overwhelm an 

 elections office’s resources, especially 

 as the registration deadline nears. Much

 of the time involved in registering new

 voters or making address adjustments

 is taken up by data entry from

 handwritten paper records. Some

 States transfer registration data 

 electronically from the State’s motor 

 vehicle agency to the elections offices.

 These activities can be accomplished 

 via real-time transfer or by using a form

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Technology in Elections

 of batch input (i.e. accumulating 

 registration data over a period of time 

 into a ‘suspense queue’ and updating 

 the registration files in batches). By 

 receiving registrations electronically, 

 election officials can save valuable 

 time in registering Americans to vote 

 while reducing potential errors 

 encountered during the manual 

 transfer of data.

 • States are exploring online voter

 registration and registration updates. 

 In some of these systems, the voter 

 can make all of the changes to their 

 registration file. In others, States still 

 require the information in paper form, 

 but they allow the voter to input the 

 information electronically.

 – In 2008, Washington and Arizona 

 allowed voters with State-issued 

 licenses or ID cards to register or 

 update their registration files from 

 a home computer. The individual’s 

 digital signature on file with the 

 department of motor vehicles is 

 used for the voter registration 

 form.

 – Florida provides a registration form 

 online in a fillable portable 

 document format (PDF). The form 

 is filled out online; the form is then 

 printed, signed by the voter, and 

 returned to the election office. The

 Florida fillable registration form is 

 unique in that the elections office 

 receives the data entered by the 

 voter into the fillable form

 electronically. When the printed 

 and signed registration form arrives 

 at the elections office by mail, there 

 is no additional data entry to do.

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 • Some jurisdictions are making an effort 

 to digitize their records. Electronic 

 scanners are used to capture and 

 digitize voter signatures, paper 

 correspondence and registration 

 records, which can then be linked to 

 individual voter files. This technology 

 may be prohibitively expensive for 

 many small jurisdictions.

 • Jurisdictions are using Geographical 

 Information System (GIS) software for 

 many different purposes:

 – The software can be used to update 

 the voter registration software street 

 index and precinct information after 

 the census redistricting.

 – A few jurisdictions on the cutting 

 edge of technology track the 

 opening and closing of the polls 

 through GIS. Each precinct chief 

 poll worker calls into a call center 

 with a unique code after the poll 

 has opened on Election Day. The 

 GIS system alerts the election 

 official as to which polls are open 

 and which are having problems.

 – The technology is also being used 

 to track from where voters come 

 during early voting. This tracking 

 allows election officials to efficiently 

 place early voting sites or even to 

 consolidate polling places. 

 • Jurisdictions might use Content 

 Management Systems (CMS) to 

 manage work flow in the elections 

 office. A CMS can be paper-based 

 manual or computer-based software 

 designed to:

 – Allow office staff to contribute to 

 and share stored data; 

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Technology in Elections

 – Control the information each user 

 can view or edit;

 – Aid in easy storage and retrieval of 

 data; 

 – Reduce repetitive or duplicative 

 input;

 – Improve the ease of report writing; 

 – Improve communication among 

 office staff.

 • A CMS can be built in-house, purchased 

 off the shelf, or contracted out to a 

 vendor. Most vendors offer a Content 

 Management System that is publicly 

 available and transferrable to other 

 vendors if the election official switches 

 to a different vendor in the future.

 • The Internet can be an inexpensive tool 

 for election officials as they reach out to 

 all voters, but especially to younger 

 voters who receive the majority of their 

 information online.

 – Consider implementing an electronic 

 newsletter as a method of 

 disseminating election-related 

 information.

 – Election officials might appoint a 

 staff member in the election office 

 who is familiar with social 

 networking websites including 

 Twitter and Facebook to provide 

 information to voters. 

 – When designing web-based 

 information systems, election 

 officials should keep in mind that 

 many voters either do not have 

 access to the web or are not skilled

 in using the web. Any information

 available via the web should also be

 available via other means. Election

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 officials may also find it useful to 

 review their web-based information

 systems for usability and

 accessibility.

 – For additional information and 

 suggestions see chapter 14 of the 

 Election Management Guidelines, 

 Communicating with the Public.

Technology in Voting

 • Consider using project management 

 software to administer elections. Many

 jurisdictions call this their election

 management system (EMS).

 – There are numerous free project 

 management solutions available via

 the Internet.

 • Some jurisdictions and some States 

 track absentee ballots electronically. 

 The ballot is scanned at various points 

 during its life cycle, which creates a 

 record of where the ballot has been. 

 Jurisdictions with high rates of

 absentee voting use ballot sorting 

 machines to sort incoming and 

 outgoing ballots into precincts. 

 – Some sorting machines can be linked

 to the voter registration database to

 facilitate matching voters’ signatures. 

 The signature match is not 100%

 accurate, though. Most systems are

 set to flag suspect signatures for 

 further manual evaluation. 

 • For additional information and 

 suggestions see chapter 7 of the 

 Election Management Guidelines, 

 Absentee Ballots.

 • The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

 Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 

 1986, as amended, ensures the rights 6

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 of absent Uniformed Services voters 

 and overseas voters to register to 

 vote and cast absentee ballots for 

 Federal offices. (See EAC Election 

 Management Guidelines, Chapter 8, 

 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens)

 – The Federal Post Card Application 

 and the Federal Write-in Absentee 

 Ballot include areas for the voter to 

 provide an e-mail address. Election 

 officials can use these e-mail 

 addresses to establish an e-mail 

 connection with their UOCAVA 

 voters so that they may be able to 

 update the elections office 

 concerning address changes.

 – Use this e-mail connection to send 

 out information, schedules, sample 

 ballots, etc.

 • If a jurisdiction incorporates ballot 

 on demand, it can be used to produce 

 ballots for UOCAVA voters without 

 having to wait for receipt of the bulk-

 printed ballots. This feature can help 

 jurisdictions incorporate the new 

 45-day window for mailing UOCAVA 

 ballots. 

 • Radio-frequency identification (RFID) 

 chips can be used to track equipment 

 or supplies. In jurisdictions using this 

 technology, a chip is placed in every 

 supply box and the boxes pass 

 through a special tunnel to record its 

 deployment and return. The 

 technology makes it easier to see 

 which polling places/precincts have 

 not yet returned their materials at the 

 end of Election Day.

 • GPS technology can be used to track 

 drivers as they deliver equipment and 

 supplies to the polling places or 

 transport election results from the 

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 precincts to the central office. This 

 tracking information (i.e. start and 

 arrival times) should be recorded and 

 maintained as part of the election 

 audit materials.

 • Some phone companies provide 

 wireless telephone service to election 

 offices for their polling places at 

 reduced costs. Election officials should

 check with their local providers. 

 • Electronic poll books are an option 

 that can be used to replace paper lists 

 of registered voters in polling places 

 and at early voting locations. 

 – Electronic poll books can assist 

 with accommodating provisional 

 voters by efficiently determining 

 whether or not the voter is 

 registered in another precinct. 

 – Electronic poll books that contain 

 state-wide voter registration lists 

 can assist election officials in 

 determining if a voter is registered 

 in another county. 

 – Some electronic poll books include

 peripherals with the capability to 

 swipe a driver’s license or coded 

 voter registration card to facilitate

 the check-in process and eliminate

 transcription errors.

Voting Systems

 • The EAC has published Voluntary 

 Voting System Guidelines for testing 

 and certifying voting systems. A 

 complete copy of these guidelines, a

 list of certified voting systems, and 

 additional information about the 

 program is available at www.eac.gov. 

 • Prior to purchasing a voting system,

 jurisdictions should check the State’s 

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1The Quick Start Management Guide on Technology in Elections

 requirements for certification. Most 

 States require:

 – Federal certification and/or

 – State certification. State-level 

 tests generally are designed to 

 assure that the voting system 

 complies with State laws and 

 regulations.

 n The State election office can 

 provide local jurisdictions with 

 a list of voting systems that are 

 certified for use in the State.

 • In addition to Federal and State 

 certification requirements, many 

 jurisdictions conduct acceptance 

 testing on newly acquired voting 

 systems and components. For a 

 description of acceptance testing see 

 chapter 4 of the Election Management 

 Guidelines, Acceptance Testing.

 • Local colleges and universities might 

 be a resource for certifying and testing 

 voting systems. For additional 

 information see chapter 12 of the 

 Election Management Guidelines, 

 Building Community Partnerships.

Cost and Replacement

 • Voting systems are not designed to 

 last forever. Election officials might 

 consider long-term planning for 

 replacement in discussions with the 

 jurisdiction’s budget authority.

 • It is essential that the election official 

 understands exactly what is, and is 

 not, covered by the vendor’s 

 maintenance and licensing agreements.

 • Consider developing a Standard 

 Technical Operating Procedures 

 (STOP) manual for your office. The 

 STOP manual includes flow charts

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 documenting every process in the 

 elections office that involves 

 technology: ballot layout, processing 

 provisional ballots, vote by mail, poll 

 worker training, etc.

 – Eventually the STOP manual will 

 document every technical aspect 

 of the elections process to ensure 

 continuity of operations.

 • Include the serial numbers and 

 expected life spans of each piece of 

 equipment in the office, as well as 

 when it was purchased, serviced, and 

 updated; and the cost.

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For information regarding this publication or to 

request additional copies, please, contact: 

Address

U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300 

Washington, DC 20005

Attn: Election Management Guidelines

Telephone

(202) 566-3100 

(866) 747-1471 (toll free)

Fax

(202) 566-3127

E-mail Address

HAVAinfo@eac.gov

Website

www.eac.gov

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by 

the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is charged with 

administering payments to states and developing guidance to 

meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration 

improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, 

accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting 

equipment and serving as a national clearinghouse and resource 

of information regarding election administration.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION