Polk County will report election results via QR codes, among the nation's first
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Beginning with a special election next month, Polk County will be among the first in the nation to use QR codes to report unofficial voting results, Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald tells Axios.
Why it matters: The new system will be more secure with voting results and expedite reporting on election nights, Fitzgerald said.
Driving the news: Polk County's new system is part of a $2.2 million equipment upgrade that includes new voting machines.
- Precinct officials will now use QR codes generated by the system to upload election night results and transfer them to election officials.
- The system eliminates Polk County's use of modems, which security officials have discouraged for years because they can be more vulnerable to hacks.
State of play: The Iowa Board of Voting Equipment Examiners met about six months ago to inspect and approve Polk's new system, Iowa Secretary of State (SOS) spokesperson Ashley Hunt tells Axios.
- Independent testing that was part of the examiners' approval process confirmed the system does not change how ballots are counted but provides a more secure way to report results, she said.
Flashback: Some Iowa counties use modems, which connect to cellular systems at the end of election night to transfer unofficial results to county election officials, SOS officials have previously said.
Yes, but: Though the modems were reliable and connected only briefly to online systems, the SOS has nonetheless encouraged eliminating them, Fitzgerald noted in a presentation to supervisors last month.
Zoom in: The QR codes can be used only once per precinct and will help expedite election night reporting, because they are faster and more convenient to use than modems, Fitzgerald said.
- The system still uses paper ballots, which are preserved and can be used to verify outcomes, he said.
What's next: The special election is March 4 for voters in the Dallas Center-Grimes, North Polk, and Saydel school districts to decide building and financial matters.