Vote by Mail Transition

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

In 2009, King County implemented a new “vote by mail” form of administering elections that relies on a combination of leading edge technology. This effort, considered a national model, involved significant investments in new hardware, software, and business process re-engineering and involved upgrading the tabulation systems, ballot tracking, and overall accountability process. The acquisition of new technology improved the timeliness, accuracy, security, and efficiency of processing ballots while reducing the number of staff and scanning workstations. Additionally, the system transitioned elections from a manual process of resolving ballot problems to a transparent, electronic resolution process that drastically improved efficiency and reduced risk.