Technology from Purdue Research Park-based firm streamlines check-in at vote centers
February 9, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Indiana voters casting ballots in future elections may find the check-in process smoother and faster, thanks to software from a Purdue Research Park-based firm that assists election administrators.
DelMar Information Technologies LLC has developed Electronic Poll Book to assist county officials who establish vote centers. The software has been used successfully in previous elections in Cass and Tippecanoe counties.
Legislation passed Monday (Feb. 7) by the Indiana General Assembly establishes the option of creating vote centers in all counties. Voters who live in counties that use vote centers can cast their ballot at any designated location rather than being limited to a single location in their precinct. Gov. Mitch Daniels has indicated that he will support the legislation.
"Election officials use Electronic Poll Book to import the complete list of voters and absentee votes from the Indiana Statewide Voter Registration System into a database before Election Day," said Kyle Lutes, founder and president of DelMar Information Technologies and associate professor of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University. "On election day, poll workers use a standard Web browser to log into the database and check in voters by searching a first name, last name, date of birth, voter identification or Statewide Voter Registration System ID."
Because the database is updated in real time, Electronic Poll Book issues alerts so poll workers will know instantly if an individual has already voted in person, by absentee ballot or has not registered.
"The technology verifies information easily, which helps election workers and saves time and resources for the counties," Lutes said.
The software also assists administrators by monitoring activity and producing reports during and after the election.
"An election administrator can use the software to create reports showing the total number of voters checked in at each vote center by hour, the total number of absentee ballots and the total number of voters who provided additional information upon check-in," Lutes said. "The program also can export voter history files into the Statewide Voter Registration System and, during primary elections, can export a file to the political parties that shows all voters who cast ballots in the primaries."
Administrators do not need to purchase special-purpose products to use Electronic Poll Book, and poll workers will not need extensive training.
Lutes and his colleagues at DelMar Information Technologies understand that different counties may have special requirements for their vote centers and need additional flexibility from Electronic Poll Book.
"The software is flexible enough to be used in conventional precinct-based polling places as well as vote centers," Lutes explained. "It also can be customized by the software development professionals at DelMar Information Technologies to meet county specifications and exceed their performance expectations."
About DelMar Information Technologies
DelMar Information Technologies is an information technology consulting firm specializing in custom software development. The firm has been developing software professionally since 1982. Clients include small businesses, medium-sized businesses and large corporations in diverse industries such as health care, education, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications and retail.
About Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette
The Purdue Research Park, with four locations across Indiana, has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The parks are home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany.
Purdue Research Park contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Sources: Kyle Lutes, 765-577-5757, kdlutes@delmarit.com
Mikel Berger, 765-490-6321, mjberger@delmarit.com
