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ID scanners might speed up voting processLOGANSPORT, Aug 10, 2011 (Pharos-Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Cass County Election Board will buy barcode scanners aimed at speeding up the voting process. The three-member board Tuesday agreed to spend $4,800 for seven drivers' license scanners and the software needed to run them. "It will help for the people that don't bring their voting cards because of the average age of our poll workers and the fact that a lot of them don't do great on a computer," said Cj Gilsinger, the county's information technology manager. Without one of the voting cards that get mailed to registered voters, a voter must provide an ID. Some of the poll workers use one-finger typing to manually enter the voter's information, Gilsinger said. The scanners, which will be used for November's election, will speed up the process by gathering the information instantly through a barcode. Board member James Austen compared it to the checkout line at the grocery store. "It goes a lot quicker when swiped instead of having to punch in the numbers," he said. Cass County Clerk Beth Liming, who also is a board member, said the scanners would also reduce the chance for error. The polling places will continue to offer use of the voting cards that are mailed out. The board decided to contract with DelMar Information Technologies LLC for the scanners. The company will also provide the software that will put the county in compliance with a new state law that requires dual log-ins on electronic poll books, a device used to check in voters during an election. "Currently, only one person signs into the poll book, and a Democrat and a Republican watch," Gilsinger said. "This is going to mandate that a Republican and Democrat both have to put their passwords in to log into the machine." Liming said there had been no problems in the past. --Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or [email protected]. To see more of Pharos-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pharostribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |