As a way to increase the security of this year’s elections, Park County is thinking about making a switch to electronic poll books.

Park County Elections staff presented the benefits of the system to county commissioners on March 5, along with the nearly $60,000 price tag for the needed equipment and software.

“We think it’s an integral piece of election integrity,” First Deputy Park County Clerk Hans Odde told the commission.

The e-poll books would replace the pen-and-paper books now used at polling places on election day. Under the current system, the poll books aren’t consolidated and formally updated until after the election, but this electronic system would sync and update the voter rolls in real time. The e-poll books being considered by the county would update voter registration information every 90 seconds — allowing poll workers to immediately stop anyone who might have already voted or felons who’ve lost their voting rights.

Odde said Park County hasn’t seen many instances of people trying to vote twice, even unintentionally, but there have been instances of felons voting; some thought their rights had been restored, he said.

Fraudulent voters are caught under the current paper poll book method, but not until the paperwork is processed following Election Day.

“We would catch them on the backside, but a week to three weeks down the road,” Odde said. “By that time they’ve already cast their ballot, we’ve already certified the election.”

Although those voters are turned over to law enforcement for potential prosecution, “there's no going back to pull the ballots out of that race,” he said.

In contrast, e-poll books enable election judges to stop any fraudulent votes from being cast in the first place. And Odde said they’re also easy to use, so they shouldn’t present any trouble for poll workers.

As for the cost, county IT Director Mike Conners said some of the expensive items, such as laptops, can be used for other departments outside of election time and are purchases the department makes often anyway to keep equipment updated. Costs in future elections would be simply to purchase consumables on each cart.

One challenge is that there’s no internet service available at the Heart Mountain Clubhouse on Wyo. Highway 294. Adding satellite coverage there would cost an estimated $5,000 because of the necessary equipment. That cost would be on top of a $58,727 estimate for the other areas.

During the March 5 discussion, Commissioner Scott Mangold asked if they could look at a hybrid model for the time being and keep the rural polling location with paper poll books.

E-poll books have already been tested, as Natrona, Laramie and Fremont counties all piloted their use in 2022. The only hiccup came in the primary in Riverton, when an updating error overwhelmed the system, Odde said, but the issue was fixed for the general election.

He said the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office approves of e-poll books, although it isn’t pushing for county clerks to implement them.

E-poll books should speed up the voting process at busier locations like the Park County Fairgrounds and the Cody Auditorium, Odde said. Instead of flipping through pages to find a name or resolve a discrepancy, he said poll workers will be able to quickly verify voters and move them along in the process.

Commissioners will consider whether to provide funding for the e-poll books at their March 19 meeting.