Approximately 50 Luzerne County residents, poll workers, officials and candidates visited the county courthouse Thursday night to examine two options for new electronic poll books used for voter sign-in on Election Day.
The county election bureau scheduled the demonstration as part of an effort to increase public involvement in potential election changes and plans.
County officials say the current devices are outdated and cannot be used in the Nov. 7 general election due to battery problems and other issues that surfaced in the May 16 primary election.
Poll books from two companies were presented at the demonstration from Election Systems & Software and Knowink LLC.
Freeland poll workers Therese Morrison, a judge of elections, and Diane Lindsay, a minority inspector, thoughtfully navigated the touch-screens of both systems and asked questions.
Both concluded they prefer the system from Knowink.
“This one is more user-friendly,” Lindsay said of the Knowink model as Morrison nodded in agreement.
“In just seconds, we were able to find everything we need,” Morrison said.
County Councilman Tim McGinley said he believes both systems “have good qualities.”
“A big key will be proper training and support regardless of which system is selected,” he said.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo agreed that is an important component and said the administration will be reaching out to other counties using both systems to learn about their experiences.
Citizen Joe Granteed, of Plains Township, said both systems appear on the surface to be “user-friendly” and “look like they could work here.” However, he said the average citizen does not have the technical expertise and data to evaluate the inner workings of each.
Newport Township resident Theodore Fitzgerald said he does not believe the county should purchase either system and advocates returning to paper poll books, predicting voters and poll workers will encounter problems with the technology.
The county purchased the current electronic poll books for $325,000 in 2018 from Election Systems & Software to speed up voter processing and allow poll workers to instantly search and redirect voters who show up at the wrong polling place.
Beyond these benefits, county Acting Deputy Election Director Emily Cook said Thursday electronic poll books also streamline the process of crediting voters for casting ballots in the state’s voter database.
With paper poll books, election workers must individually scan each bar code next to the space where voters sign their name. This information is collectively digitally uploaded when using electronic poll books, she said.
County Election Director Eryn Harvey prefers electronic poll books, citing similar reasons.
The county had temporarily switched back to paper books in the November 2022 general election due to concerns the electronic ones were reaching their end of life and had created problems for some poll workers wrestling with technical issues.
As a result, county Election Board members said there were more provisional ballots in the November 2022 general election because poll workers could not independently search voter records when voters appearing at their polling places were not listed in the paper books.
In evaluating the two new electronic poll book options, Cook said she is looking in part for a system more simplified for poll workers to set up, operate and shut down, noting the current one is “pretty cumbersome.” She also wants assurances broken equipment will be easier to fix and will examine the duration devices run without requiring charging.
The bureau received notification from some polling places in the May primary that the device batteries were dead, even though they had been fully charged when they were packed up for delivery.
“We want to make things as easy as possible for poll workers and voters,” Cook said.
Cook designed an electronic feedback survey for attendees to provide input on which system they liked best and the reasons. The bureau will tally the results of the feedback and seek further information from both vendors so it can brief the five-citizen Election Board on its plan at the board’s next meeting on Aug. 16.
Vendors that submitted proposals must be equipped to accommodate the county’s anticipated Nov. 7 general election implementation of the new equipment.
Funding will be available for poll books through the upcoming second annual Pennsylvania Election Integrity Grant, officials said.
Poll book vendors submitted these prices to the county, records show: $431,290 from Election Systems & Software and $437,300 from Knowink. The county has 186 voting precincts and sought pricing for 220 poll books.