Chester Co. first in state to debut iPads at polls
CHESTER COUNTY, Tenn. — Chester County will be the first county in Tennessee to use iPads during elections. Election officials said the new gadgets will debut during the Nov. 17 special election on the sales tax referendum. Twenty-five iPads have been purchased for the 11 precincts across the county. “We’re going to take the process from minutes to seconds from the time they come in until the time they’re ready to head to the booth,” deputy administrator of elections Kathy Vest said. The tablets will replace traditional poll books. “In the past, we only had poll books that only had that precincts voters in it,” Election Commissioner Michele White said. Now all registered Chester County voters will be in the tablet’s database. When voters head to the polls, they’ll check in by either scanning a current driver’s license or gun permit. Voters also can put their name into the database manually. Once both voters and poll workers have signed off, a receipt is printed for an application for ballot. The units were tested by election workers three times before giving the gadget the green light. “Some of the least techno savvy poll officials came back saying ‘we’ve got to have it,'” White said. The models do not come with apps or features for web surfing. White said they are only for official election use and use a secure operating system. White said each poll iPad unit cost about $1,000 and that they were able to purchase three for reserves.
