Suburban Cook County voters to use new ‘intuitive’ devices to streamline check-in process

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Voters in suburban Cook County will be casting their ballots in upcoming elections with the help of new devices that aim to streamline check-in at the polls.

Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough announced the purchase of the 4,500 new e-poll devices that will be used in the June 28 primary election.

The equipment uses secure iPad applications to check in voters at every poll location in suburban Cook County, Yarbrough said at a news conference Thursday. That means poll workers won’t need to check in voters by finding their names on bulky paper ledgers.

The devices load each voter’s registration information and verify their signature to ensure they receive the correct ballot.

“We fully expect this new equipment will improve the voting experience for, again, the voters certainly, but also our election judges,” Yarbrough said. “And it’s going to make the process more efficient.”

Brian Rich/Sun-Times

“One of the great things” about the new, digital system “is that it allows voters to check in in a seamless way,” Edmund Michalowski, Cook County’s deputy clerk for elections, said during the news conference.

First-time voters can register to vote on the new equipment as well, Michalowski said.

“As you can imagine, [digital] pollbooks are like applications on our phones,” he said. “They’re intuitive, they work for the election judge and the voter, so it’s going to be a very smooth process.”

This announcement comes one day after the start of limited early voting and registration at in suburban Cook County.

Expanded early voting will begin June 13 in about 50 locations across Cook County.