Voters at George Mason University’s polling center in Merten Hall will encounter a new way of establishing their identities on Super Tuesday, March 1. Instead of the paper and laptop “pollbooks” used to verify eligibility in years past, George Mason voters will use iPads to check in before casting their primary ballots.
The PollPads in use at Mason—and 20 other precincts among Fairfax County’s hundreds of precincts—are part of a pilot program that, if successful, could be in use nationwide in future elections.
“I’m told that’s the idea,” said Donald Garrett, a master of public administration student at Mason and the first college student to serve as chief election officer for Mason’s University precinct.
Garrett pointed out that the county chose Mason because of its built-in demographics. “Most of our voters are college-aged students,” he said. “We are the precinct in the county that is probably the most comfortable with adapting to new technology.”
Each PollPad is a regular iPad, but contains county voter registration records. The iPad camera reads the barcode on a driver’s license or voter ID; if the ID does not have a barcode, the volunteer can access the information by typing in the voter’s name and address. Once verified, the voter is given a paper ballot that is optically scanned.