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Milford to pilot VotingWorks poll pads and new vote tabulation workflow at March 11 town election
Summary
Town Clerk Joan Dodge and Moderator Pete Bassler briefed the Select Board on a state pilot of VotingWorks poll pads at the March 11 election and a separate pilot of automatic compilation of tabulator results; the board will run the new systems in parallel with current procedures for the trial.
Town Clerk Joan Dodge and Town Moderator Pete Bassler told the Select Board Feb. 24 that the town will pilot VotingWorks poll pads on the March 11 town election, the first use in New Hampshire. The vendor is loaning equipment for the pilot; no purchase or recurring cost is due for this trial.
Dodge and Bassler said the poll-pad user interface will be similar to the town—s current devices, but that the pilot includes new features: closed-loop wireless (local-only network) between devices rather than hardwired connections, and the ability to print a paper checklist only if a problem occurs (for example a power loss). The closed-loop network is designed to be nonpublic and was described as not discoverable as a standard Wi-Fi or Bluetooth network during state testing.
Bassler said the pilot also includes an automatic compilation workflow for new tabulators that will add returns from four machines into a single compilation file to speed processing; the town will run the automated compilation in parallel with the existing manual audit process on election night so officials can verify results.
Why it matters: The pilot could reduce election day operational complexity and volunteer required staffing, and position the town for state-approved uploads to the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) in future. Town officials said the state and the Ballot Law Commission must approve long-term changes to checklist handling and upload procedures.
Logistics and oversight: VotingWorks equipment was provided at no charge for the pilot; state observers and the Deputy Secretary of State may attend. The town will keep the existing paper-based redundancy during the pilot and will continue parallel manual verification; if the pilot is approved by the state and Ballot Law Commission, future workflows may change. Town staff said the pilot is scheduled for March 11 and that there is no local purchase obligation at this time.
Select Board members asked about security, clerk and ballot-worker staffing, and whether the change would reduce IT setup. Town staff said the closed-loop approach removes the need to hardwire multiple poll pads and may reduce on-site IT tasks.
