CULLMAN – Voters in three Cullman County precincts will see a change in Tuesday’s upcoming election. Cullman County is participating in Alabama Secretary of State John H. Merrill’s electronic poll (e-poll) book pilot program. In the program, e-poll books are used in lieu of printed lists of qualified voters and the poll list. Cullman County Judge of Probate Tammy Brown and the Cullman County Commission signed an agreement to participate in the pilot program.
The three precincts that will be using the e-poll books are: Center Hill Community Center, Cullman County Health Department and Bolte-White Grove Church.
“The e-poll books are very similar to a tablet and replace the paper sign-in system that the election workers now use to check off qualified voters and for the poll list,” said Brown in a media release. “Voters will cast their votes on the same voting machine, the DS200. The election process in its entirety has not changed; we are just implementing the use of the e-poll book.”
One feature of the e-poll book is that election workers will have the ability to search for a voter’s name to verify the precinct in which that voter is registered. Upon a voter entering a voting location, the election worker enters the voter’s name into the system. If the worker finds the voter is not registered in that particular precinct, then the worker can provide the voter his or her correct precinct location without having to contact the Cullman County Board of Registrars or the Probate Office. Election workers do not have this capability with the paper voters’ list.
“The process for checking in a voter should be expedited now because election workers will no longer have to hunt through paper voters’ lists to find a voter’s name.”
Voters should be aware that e-poll books will only scan two types of identification- a valid driver’s license or a state-issued identification card. Otherwise, an election worker must manually enter the required information to locate the voter in the system.
“Probate office election employees have completed training for the use of the e-poll books. Training classes will also be held in the probate office for the inspectors of the precincts that will use the e-poll books in the general election. Each inspector may also bring an additional election worker with them for the training,” said Brown. “Cullman County has fair and honest elections and that is due to our election workers. We rely on their input for the election process. I, as the chief election official for Cullman County, want each election worker to know how much their service is appreciated.”
The use of e-poll books has been certified by Merrill. Additionally, Merrill’s office develops and provides each participating county instructions, directives and advisories regarding the examination, testing and use of the e-poll books.
“The probate office election division attended meetings regarding the e-poll book project and decided that early participation in the program would be most beneficial for the Cullman County election process,” stated Brown. “The Cullman County Probate Office wants to take advantage of the latest technology available in the administration of the electoral process to expedite the election process. Technology is gearing toward e-poll books for future elections.
“The secretary of state allowed participating counties to start with the number of books they felt comfortable with in the beginning phase. The consensus is that there is going to be a large voter turn-out for the Nov. 8, 2016 general election. I would never agree to anything that would interfere with the election process without obtaining all the necessary information before final decisions are made to move forward,” continued Brown. “The election workers already work a 12-hour-plus day, so adding additional duties and responsibilities is never easy. We contacted inspectors and provided as much information to them as possible to get their input before moving forward. The inspectors at each of the precincts chosen agreed to participate in the pilot program. It was our intention to start small and possibly add e-poll books to more precincts in the future.”
If you have any questions regarding the e-poll book pilot program, please contact the Cullman County Probate Office Election Department. Reach Benson Clark or Joan Weaver at 256-775-4811 or Chief Clerk Kathy Swann at 256-775-4665.
To see a sample ballot for Tuesday’s election, visit: http://www.cullmancourts.org/assets/probatecourt/PDFs/sampleBallot.PDF.
To confirm your polling location or for more information, visit: http://www.alabamavotes.gov/.
