Rhode Island - State of Rhode Island
Program Title
Voter Registration System - Mail Ballot Module
Program Summary
Rhode Island's mail ballot process was antiquated and so labor intensive that cities/towns had issues processing mail ballot applications for the 2020 Presidential Primary. The process included data entry, creating certification sheets, obtaining board signatures, and hand-delivering applications to the Board of Elections. Processing 50 applications took cities/towns 1.5-2 hours. With over 4 times the amount of mail ballot applications ever received for the Presidential Primary, the cities/towns were concerned about processing the expected increase for the November 2020 election.
We designed the process, so our office scanned mail ballot applications into the voter registration system using desktop scanners. The scanned applications generated a mail ballot record in the system using the unique barcode on the application. It cropped the signature from the mail ballot application and placed it (on the screen) next to the voter's signature on file with the city/town. The city/town compared voter signatures (listed 20-at-a-time, side by side on their screen) and determined if they matched. If the signatures matched, the city/town clicked "Approve", the mail ballot record was created, and our office prepared to send the ballot. Clicking "Reject"generated a notice that was sent to the voter notifying them of the deficiency.
We designed the process, so our office scanned mail ballot applications into the voter registration system using desktop scanners. The scanned applications generated a mail ballot record in the system using the unique barcode on the application. It cropped the signature from the mail ballot application and placed it (on the screen) next to the voter's signature on file with the city/town. The city/town compared voter signatures (listed 20-at-a-time, side by side on their screen) and determined if they matched. If the signatures matched, the city/town clicked "Approve", the mail ballot record was created, and our office prepared to send the ballot. Clicking "Reject"generated a notice that was sent to the voter notifying them of the deficiency.