Poll Pads To Be Used In Putnam County Tuesday

Putnam County will be one of 16 counties across the state to use poll pads during Tuesday’s election.

Putnam County Election Commission Deputy Administrator Sara Shaw said the devices allow election workers to scan voter identification cards.

“Poll pads are actually just iPads that have an app on them that has all the voting data from our county. It will automatically populate the voter without the voter having to fill out a bunch of paper work,” Shaw said. “It streamlines the process and it’s way quicker.”

The poll pads will also help cut down on human errors and reduce the number of election workers needed at each precinct.

Shaw said the new technology will tell election workers if someone has already voted or if a voter showed up at the wrong precinct.

“We used them in the August election at two precincts and it went very well,” Shaw said. “We have about 75 poll pads, but we are only sending out 48 at this time.”

The county purchased the devices and necessary equipment for $1,500 each. The funding was included in the county’s capital projects fund.

Shaw said the poll pads will be at all 24 precincts on Tuesday.

The pads are produced by election technology company KNOWiNK.