Local County Relies on RUSH for Voter Security and E-Poll Books
Overview
As states explore new voting technologies, the transition from paper-based to e-poll books is accelerating. E-poll books, which are usually on a laptop or tablet, bring many benefits. They can look up eligible voters, allow electronic sign in, scan a driver’s license and check whether a voter has voted via absentee ballot or in an early voting period.
As of 2018, “36 states used e-poll books in at least one jurisdiction in the 2018 elections” and 26.2% of jurisdictions nationwide used them, according to the 2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey. This represents a 48% increase in e-poll book usage since the 2016 election.
With so many counties across the nation moving to e-pollbooks, issues with data management, voter privacy and security has risen to the forefront among the concerns of election officials.
Situation
Forsyth County, NC now uses e-pollbooks. Initially, the county purchased laptops and printers to run the voter verification software at their polling stations.
As the county’s election hardware began to age, they needed to continuously upgrade their laptops for election use. Due to the up-front and ongoing ownership costs of the equipment, it was becoming a financial burden on the county. Finding the time and resources to account for all devices, ensure that both hardware and software systems were updated with the appropriate patches, and imaging each device with updated voter information was a daunting task.
Solution
Rush provided Forsyth County a solution that was secure and efficient. The county orders the appropriate number of devices for each of their voting spaces. With value-added imaging services, Rush delivers the devices with updated files on encrypted drives. A laptop is delivered to each precinct, along with a printer, in a convenient, durable shipping box.
When the county has completed the election process, the devices are returned to Rush where they go through an extensive disk cleansing process to ensure they are sanitized.
Upon return, each computer is wiped and reimaged with a fresh operating system. Dedicated build servers are used to ensure a clean, virus-free environment. Rush also offers optional wipe services equivalent to Department of Defense drive sanitation procedures, and upon request, clients can also retain the hard drive from any rented computer.
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