Residents in the Town of Wayland, Massachusetts have reduced the time required for town meeting voting by one third. Using electronic voting technology and wireless keypads from Option Technologies (OTI), they reduced the time required for standing vote counts from 30 minutes or more to less than 2 minutes.
Massachusetts has been a pioneering state in citizen voting for more than three hundred years, with a proud tradition of residents coming together to decide governance issues. In 2011, the state took another historic step forward when Wayland residents voted anonymously and electronically using Option Technologies’ interactive keypads.
The Wayland Electronic Voting Implementation Subcommittee (ELVIS), chaired by David Bernstein, worked in conjunction with the Option Technologies team to document and prepare the polling process for the town meeting, check in voters electronically, and provide them with keypads. OTI provided 1,600 advanced keypads, ten Welcome Stations, and 19 on-site personnel to assist the registration team supervised by the Town Clerk.
As each motion was presented, constituents cast their votes using OptionFinder G3 keypads. Each voter received visual feedback on their keypad confirming their vote, and the results were immediately tabulated and announced by the Moderator. This allowed meeting participants to move more quickly through a number of topics on the agenda.
“I loved it,” said Lynne Dunbrack. “Especially the privacy aspect. People get to vote their consciences. I also think it’s a real timesaver when it comes to standing votes.”
Residents of Wayland are making a historic journey, taking the centuries-old ritual of town meetings into the digital age. “This is the first time in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that electronic voting has been used for a municipal meeting. And so far as I know, it’s the first time in the country,” said Town Moderator Peter Gossels.
As voters entered, Option Technologies staff checked each person in electronically using OptionPower Welcome Station software and issued a keypad. Participants voted on each item during a 30-second window declared by the Moderator by pressing 1 for Aye, 2 for Nay, and 3 to Abstain. The results and detailed tally were announced in less than a minute. The keypads allow everyone to vote at the same time, saving valuable time during the meeting and supporting an accurate, transparent process.
Mark Fite, President of Option Technologies, said, “OTI has delivered an enhanced solution for this meeting, including a new version of our OptionPower Welcome Station, which allowed staff to electronically check in voters and issue keypads while providing optimal security and privacy. We were excited to work with the folks in Wayland to deliver this secure, time-saving electronic voting approach.”
To learn more about implementing electronic voting in your town meetings or councils, call us at 407-872-3333 or visit www.optiontechnologies.com.