Isanti County elections staff outline plan to replace paper rosters with electronic poll books

Isanti County elections staff on [date not specified] proposed buying an upgraded electronic poll book (e‑poll pad) system for every precinct in the county, saying the technology would replace paper rosters and reduce errors and post‑election workload.

County elections staff member Angie Larson told the board that e‑poll books “replace paper rosters” and would allow judges to check in voters on tablets that sync within a precinct, narrow data‑entry errors and make election‑day registration faster. She said the vendor recommends roughly one device per 500 voters and that the county’s current vendor has been used elsewhere in Minnesota since the 2014 elections bill authorized e‑rosters.

Larson said one county estimate for a full upgrade — including 40 poll pads, setup and replacement units for Cambridge — was about $100,000. She told commissioners the state’s voter account grant fund provided a recurring allotment to counties; Isanti County received $10,272.50 in 2023 and is expected to receive $40,340.93 annually going forward under current law. If the board pursued the $100,000 estimate and used existing grant funds, Larson said, the remaining $60,000 would likely be split roughly $30,000 from the county and $30,000 from cities and townships under a cost‑share approach similar to a previous agreement with the city of Cambridge.

Evan Vogel, Cambridge city administrator, described Cambridge’s multi‑year experience with poll pads as largely positive and said the devices “improve service delivery of elections pretty significantly.” Vogel and city staff told the board Cambridge runs fewer devices than the vendor’s 1‑per‑500 suggestion and has not experienced operational failures that could not be addressed on site. Both Vogel and Larson emphasized that e‑poll books are designed to operate only within a precinct’s local network and are not connected to the internet or to ballot tabulators.

Commissioners raised questions about initial purchase and replacement costs, training for election judges, plans for curbside voting and contingency procedures if a device fails. Larson said precincts would still receive a printed roster as a backup and election judges would revert to paper if a device became unusable. Commissioners also discussed timing for notifying townships and requested that staff present the proposal to the township association ahead of final action so townships can budget or opt‑out.

The board did not vote on the purchase. Staff said the matter would return for further discussion after outreach to townships and additional vendor cost breakdowns.

Ending

County staff recommended more outreach to precincts and townships, additional price detail from the vendor and training plans for judges before the board commits to a countywide rollout. Vogel and Cambridge staff offered to work with the county on training and field experience.