Broome County Board of Elections
Voting Machines / E-Poll Books
Voting Machines
Broome County to begin use of Clear Ballot Voting Machines in 2024.
In 2009 we transitioned away from decades of the old lever & curtain machines to ballot scanners. While none of our previous voting machines had ever failed a pre-election test or post-election audit over the last 14 years, technological advancements over the years required us to upgrade. This year we have updated our voting machines to a new system from Clear Ballot Group, Inc. We will be using their new ClearCast Go system for ballot scanning and their ADA compliant ClearMark system for accessible voting.
Election Day Voting
Meet ClearCast Go, Clear Ballot’s next generation precinct tabulator: modern software meets rugged hardware. With quick scan times and an intuitive user interface for both poll workers and voters, the ClearCast Go security features and design will keep Broome County current as election technology advances.
Accessibility Plus
ClearMark gives voters an independent and accessible voting experience, while offering ballot verification for confidence in the process.
What security features are in place?
First, the Clear Ballot Systems used by Broome County are not connected to the internet at any time, nor are they even equipped with the necessary technology to enable any such connection. The computers used to program the machines for elections are never connected to the internet, as well. They are managed on a separate, secure server under bi-partisan, double lock and key at the Board of Elections office. When deployed, each machine is locked and sealed with tamper-resistant seals that are recorded by BOE staff, technicians, and poll inspectors before and after every deployment for chain of custody purposes.
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Flash Drives are scrubbed and reprogrammed in office prior to each election.
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Each machine is tested prior to deployment.
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Machines are checked prior to the first vote with a zero report by technicians and poll inspectors.
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The voting machines offer redundancies for election integrity - results drive, paper results tapes, and the paper ballots are retained in a locked compartment for auditing purposes.
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Results are transported in locked security bags, often by Sheriff deputy back to the Board of Elections.
New York State Machine Certification Testing:
All required state testing information for the Clear Ballot voting system is publicly accessible through the New York State Board of Elections website.
Electronic Poll Books
Electronic Poll Books made their debut in Broome County for the 2019 General Election.
Broome County uses electronic poll book software designed and programmed by Tenex Software Solutions, a Florida based election technology firm.
What are electronic poll books?
Our electronic poll books are essentially a tablet computer (Apple iPad) that are programmed to exclusively check in voters at poll site locations for Early Voting and on Election Day; they replaced the old paper poll books inspectors previously had voters sign.
How do electronic poll books work?
The record of every voter in the county is loaded onto each electronic poll book. When a voter arrives at the voting location, a poll inspector checks the voter in either by scanning the voter’s election card, state driver’s license/ID or by performing a manual name search on the tablet. If the voter is at the wrong voting location, the poll inspector can text/e-mail/print directions to the voter’s correct voting location.
Each poll book is encrypted for security and synced to the other units deployed at that polling location, so when a voter checks in on one unit, all the other units at that location are updated as well. These poll books also transmit important encrypted administrative data (such as supply of ballots and other items, poll inspector payroll, voter counts, etc.) in real time back to the Board of Elections, as well as allow staff to send messages to poll inspectors. Rest assured, no sensitive voter-specific data is transmitted in these encrypted transfers.
What are the benefits to voters?
Electronic poll books reduce the check-in time (and, consequently, wait times) for voters. As mentioned above, voters that have a Board of Elections issued voter information card or a state issued ID or license can have them scanned to pull up their record immediately for signing.
Further, by having the information for every registered voter in the County on each device, precinct election officials are able to quickly and confidently identify voters who are at the wrong voting location and direct them to their correct location. These features significantly reduce the number of voters who vote at the wrong location and whose affidavit ballots are subsequently rejected.
What security features are in place?
Broome County's E-Poll Books were programmed by Tenex Software Solutions and has been certified by the New York State Board of Elections and was tested by National Technical Systems (NTS). As part of our Board’s vendor selection process, both New York State and Broome County Departments of Information Technology have conducted a review of the security features to protect your election data.
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The E-Poll Books protect against intentional manipulation, fraud and malicious mischief;
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The E-Poll Books provides the ability to identify fraudulent or erroneous changes to the system;
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They maintain the integrity of the voting process with secure line technology and encryption.
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The E-Poll Books are in no way connected, physically or electronically, to the vote recording equipment.
