The Barton County Clerk’s Office will sponsor an electronic poll book demonstration at 9 a.m. Friday in the Clerk’s Office at Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main, Great Bend. The demonstration will be provided by Henry M. Adkins and Son Inc. of Clinton, Mo.

County Clerk Donna Zimmerman said members of her staff have visited various vendors making presentations in Salina and Hays. This particular vendor provides the poll book solution they like the best. 

Now, they are bringing it on site for the rest of the office employees to see.   

Zimmerman said they not looking at new voting equipment at this point, but rather an electronic poll book that would be used by poll workers to keep track of who has voted. This would eliminate the need to print manual poll books on paper and would also have instant access to information on who voted.

It will just be an iPad (or something similar) that can scan a driver’s license and pull up a registrant record.  Once it is determined that the voter is eligible to vote, the voter would make a digital signature and then cast their ballot as they are doing currently.

This would make looking up a voter quicker and easier, she said. It would also save office employee overtime in spooling poll books, and printing and assembling them in notebooks.