Voting could be faster and more accurate with electronic poll books says an election administrator who has been trying them out. The system Minnetonka City Clerk David Maeda uses is similar to the one Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has proposed for statewide use. Maeda has been using them in some Minnetonka precincts for several election cycles.
He says the poll books can speed up the process, which will reducing waiting in line on election day. It provides many cost saving benefits for the entire election process including posting absentee voters, verifying ID and in the post election processing tasks of the city and county.
Ritchie and DFL lawmakers are promoting the electronic poll books as a more accurate and less costly alternative to a Republican back constitutional amendment which requires people have a photo ID to vote. Electronic poll books also has a photo, but it’s the government’s responsibility to keep track of it, not the voter’s.
Watch as Maeda discusses the many advantages and describes how an electronic system would be implemented.
