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Voter Registration Document
Many agencies have discovered that their old voter registration format presented ongoing problems for the signature retrieval system. Described below are some problems previously encountered and their resolution.
Document Format
Some agencies have redesigned their voter registration document using white paper with sharp black printing, to provide the greatest contrast for scanning. This accommodation to the computer system results in a pay back to the agency in a clear easily read image on the monitor screen, when comparison is required.
The reasons for the redesign are multiple, often old documents are in poor condition or have many different formats. Erie County in New York State found that double backing on the original registration forms resulted in scanner misfeeds.
Consistency in format of the document is also beneficial, especially if the signature is digitized and stored separately, from the document. When the whole document is going to be digitized and stored, minimizing printing and lines on the document will reduce the amount of storage space required for the «electronic» image.
When there are large blocks of printed information, such as instructions, on the voter registration form, it is possible with an electronic image to store the instructions, once only. Then you do not have to store it with every document on which it appears.
Signature Block
The signature block can be crucial. Ideally, the block should be one inch in height by at least three inches in length. Use a very light, horizontal line, about 1/2 inch shorter than the block width, centered in the block, on which the voter's signature is to be written. This will allow digitizing the signature without picking up other printed material near the signature block. This provides a cleaner image requiring less disk storage space. Pasco County, Florida found during conversion that they had the following signature problems:
 Signatures requiring more space than allowed.
Some signatures were too light.
Sometimes there were no signatures.
Their solution was to send out «signature cards» to the electorate to obtain a signature acceptable for the project. Hillsborough County, Florida suggests collecting signatures at Presidential Elections using purpose designed precinct registers (white with no extraneous material encroaching on signature) and good black ink pens.
Motor Voter
Motor Voter, the registering of voters on a driver's license application has been adopted in some states and is likely to be adopted in more. The format of the motor voter document can affect signature retrieval systems. For instance, the size and color of the document, or the size and location of the signature block may require, additional steps to separate the documents, before scanning. Equipment may have to be adjusted for each different document to allow for changes in color or location of the signature.
Elections administrators should be allowed to provide input for any proposed document changes to accommodate Motor Voter registration. An advantage of this program, according to officials in Clackamas County, Oregon is that the registration crunch before elections will be alleviated.
Uses In Elections
Petition Signatures
The primary use of signature retrieval systems are to check petition signatures to decide that the person signing a given petition is the same person who registered to vote. Prior to obtaining their system, Lee County, Florida had to «Alphabetize petitions and then pull each individual voter record to verify each signature. With this process 100 signatures were verified per hour. With digitization, 100 signatures can be verified in 20 minutes or approximately 220 signatures per hour.»
The computer can keep track of the number of valid signatures processed and to determine whether the signer meets residency requirements for the petition. Also whether the candidate, initiative, referendum of recall measure qualifies for the ballot.
Absent Voter Signatures
Comparison checks for validating absent voter applications or returned ballots. Mail ballot elections are more efficiently conducted with computerized signature retrieval.
Nomination Signatures
Candidate nominating papers are checked against the registration signatures.
Polling Place Signatures
Erie, Monroe and Niagara Counties, in New York, provide a roster with facsimile signatures printed next to the voters names for the polling places. When the voter votes on election day, it is then a simple process for the polling place workers to compare the voter's signature to the printed facsimile.
Agencies Using Systems
During preparation of this paper we visited working installations of these systems in Pinellas and Dade Counties in Florida; and Los Angeles, San Diego and Placer Counties in California. Pinellas County was the first election agency to install an operational system. The pioneering efforts started in 1986, by Pinellas County was closely followed by Orange and Dade counties in Florida.
Twenty-three states have told us they either have none or are not aware of any signature systems in use, in their state. We were informed that Iowa, does not require signature comparison for any aspect of their voting process.
Since 1986, many jurisdictions have installed these systems across the United States. Many other Florida Counties have systems as well as jurisdictions in the States of Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Most of the systems in use have been developed or acquired at the local level. Sometimes state officials are unaware of their existence.
Experience
Once the system is installed, all existing active voter registration documents must be scanned either wholly or in part to form the basis of the information that will be recalled during the signature checking process. Some systems have scanners that feed the document through the scanner station. Others have hand held scanners requiring a person to pass the scanner mechanism over the signature area of the voter document.
Many agencies have encountered a variety of difficulties at this stage. Over the years, formats of voter registration documents have changed the location of the signature on the document. Paper color can cause degradation of the scanned image, background color is picked up by the scanner. The digitizing of background causes more disk space to be used, than required for the signature only.
Additionally, over time the actual signature may have faded. This difficulty has been overcome by techniques such as photocopying the original document and enhancing the images on white paper before the signature or document is scanned into the system.
Fatigue of workers scanning the documents is another factor that must be considered when planning the document conversion. Fatigue results in errors on the file that will cause problems later. Based on recommendations, we suggest that workers be given a five minute rest break every hour. This is beyond their regular morning and afternoon breaks and lunch. This leaves about 6.5 productive hours in a normal eight hour work day for conversion. Placer County, California managers insisted that their staff take hourly breaks due to the repetitive nature of the conversion work in order to eliminate errors on the file. The conversion process of the initial scanning of existing documents is mentioned, most frequently, as the main problem area for installing signature retrieval systems.
Brevard County, Florida found that the capture process was difficult on the employees because of the repetition. Their solution was to schedule each employee for a limited time on the conversion task. They could spend more time but it was not mandatory.
Whenever possible, ensure that all necessary equipment is purchased and delivered according to your schedule. Niagara County, New York's conversion process was slowed by the delay in purchase of their in-house scanning equipment.
Misplaced, lost or unscannable documents have frequently been cited as problems, in document conversion. At least one jurisdiction sent new registration forms to electors to fill out, to complete the installation of their system. (Clackamas County, Oregon)
One county suggested having a detailed plan for the conversion effort and to check 100% of the images to make sure they have been identified with the correct voter. ( San Diego County, California)
A couple of counties said they had documents with signatures that were too large or light to be digitized. One county reduced the large signatures on a copy machine before scanning. Darkening of light signatures was achieved using a copy machine. (Dade and Pasco Counties, Florida)
Another jurisdiction said the blue paper used for their voter registration document was picked up as background during the scanning. Other printing on the document was digitized with the signature. This problem could only be solved with a new form. (Pinellas County, Florida)
Mojave County in Arizona suggested that you make sure the system you select is compatible with your existing software and hardware.
Be prepared to expend effort and time to backup data and signatures on a regular basis. Backup will probably have to be done outside normal business hours. ( Fulton County, Georgia )
We have also learned some jurisdictions are considering updating the signatures from polling place rosters. ( Hillsborough County, Florida )
Benefits
Signature retrieval systems save money and time. When large petitions with thousands or hundreds of thousands of signatures for a statewide petition are required to be processed, these systems can enable an agency to do this within the legal deadlines required by the state.
Signature retrieval systems are one of the most productive automated systems an election's administrator can install. Productivity improvements of 400% are reported, in checking petition signatures. Thurston County, Washington reports that they were able to reduce staff from four regularly assigned employees to a person working on the task three quarters of their time. Manhour savings resulted in 1440 hours per year.
What follows is a list of areas within your agency where the installation of a signature retrieval system can benefit the management and administration of the agency:
 Document or signature retrieval and processing speeds were reported which indicated improvements of two to four times over manual processes.
Signatures are more accessible to staff when needed.
Accuracy of updating the correct record when changes occur is enhanced.
Space for record storage in ledgers or filing equipment is reduced. This frees up expensive office space for other uses. If paper retention is required, by law in your area, records can be stored in warehouse type facilities.
Speed of processing during election peaks is improved.
More ability to meet legal deadlines as the workload increases. In San Diego County, California, prior to system installation AVs took 1.1 minutes each to process. After installation .35 minutes was required for each document. Similarly, petitions went from 3.2 minutes down to 2.2 minutes.
Transportation costs, packaging and processing of sending poll ledgers out to precincts can be eliminated by producing a laser printed signature on the precinct register. Monroe County, New York, with 350,000 registered voters, was relieved of pulling poll ledgers, packing and sending them out in hundreds of carrying cases to the polls. Delivery costs, telephone line and operator costs and key punching costs were eliminated. This resulted in savings equalling $50,000 per year.
Computerized systems with terminals are easier to work with than heavy ledgers. Frequently with old paper files there are problems with dust, paper fleas, poor lighting all contributing to decreased staff efficiency and possible errors.
Copies of computer files or optical disks can be made and stored offsite, providing better backup for the agencies records in case of fire or other disaster.
Based on our on-site interviews and questionnaires all jurisdictions have shown significant savings achieved by installing these systems. Some have reported labor savings that have the systems paying for themselves in one to three major elections.
Costs
Costs can range from about $5,000 for software alone to several million dollars for hardware, software and conversion of documents for a very large jurisdiction. Most vendors sell packages including hardware and software. They offer assistance with training, implementation and file conversion from paper or microfilm to the computer. Allow for a certain amount of your time and that of key staff going into the selection, contract negotiation and installation of this equipment.
If you are wondering if your jurisdiction is large enough to justify the expense of this type of system, consider Amador County, California. Located in the foothills of the Sierras they have 17,000 voters and are in the process of converting to a signature retrieval system. They feel that already the system is extremely helpful. They have experienced what many others have regarding conversion problems and warn that you budget adequately, for staff for this effort.
Plan for additional costs, for the conversion effort, because it may be necessary to bring in more workers and to work regular staff overtime. You also may use more supplies at this time than in normal production.
The following chart details some of the costs experienced by some of the jurisdictions responding to the survey. Keep in mind that some agencies implemented more extensive systems than others, as a result costs varied widely. The information is offered so that you may «ballpark» your potential costs if you decide to install this type of system in your agency.
COUNTY NAME
|
VOTER TOTAL
|
COSTS
|
HARDWARE/ SOFTWARE
|
CONVERSION
|
TOTAL
|
PER VOTER
|
Maricopa Co, AZ
|
1,100,000
|
$ 1,100,000
|
$ 100,000
|
$ 1,200,000
|
$1.09
|
Pima County, AZ
|
384,000
|
$ 236,000
|
$ 150,000
|
$ 386,000
|
$1.01
|
Los Angeles Co, CA
|
3,300,000
|
$ 2,300,000
|
$ 800,000
|
$ 3,100,000
|
$ .94
|
San Diego Co, CA
|
1,200,000
|
$ 225,000
|
$ 50,000
|
$ 275,000
|
$ .23
|
Brevard Co, FL
|
193,000
|
$ 112,000
|
$ 34,313
|
$ 146,313
|
$ .76
|
Palm Beach Co., FL
|
414,000
|
$ 65,000
|
$ 40,000
|
$ 105,000
|
$ .26
|
Monroe Co, NY
|
350,000
|
$ 400,000
|
$ 75,000
|
$ 475,000
|
$1.36
|
Clackamas Co, OR
|
150,000
|
$ 58,000
|
$ 6,500
|
$ 64,500
|
$ .43
|
Implementation Strategies
The State of New York, State Board of Elections has developed regulations that New York counties must follow when acquiring a signature retrieval system. This is the only state we know of where this is currently being done.
Bade County, Florida elections officials suggest that you visit jurisdictions of the same size as yours, having the same legal requirements, who have their scanning equipment in place before making a purchase. San Diego County, California suggests that you allocate one day for each visit. Also, visit the site without the vendor.
We are not going to attempt to tell you how to prepare and evaluate a Request for Proposal or other instrument for a bid. The requirements for this process vary widely from one jurisdiction to another. We do suggest that you have a written agreement, approved by your legal counsel.
When you begin your acquisition process you should consider the following when preparing the agreement or contract specifications.
How often is whole document needed? (Usually not very often. It probably does not need to be stored in the computer.)
Are signatures required at polling places? (If so, can you use a report on which the signature has been printed by the system?)
Do the courts accept documents or signatures reproduced from digitized data? (You should check this with your legal counsel.)
Know your processing volumes so you can predict what type of response times you will need to accomplish your work.
When and how many of your documents come in at specific times? (Most usually come in at busy election times).
How many different signature checking functions are required to be done, simultaneously? (Petitions, Absent Voters)
Will you need to digitize and retrieve signatures at the same time? (You may need to enter a voter registration document, while checking signatures for candidate filing.)
Identify any hardware and software you may currently have so compatibility can be determined.
Decide if you need to have backup or extra computer hardware. How seriously would you be affected by an equipment breakdown? How long will it take to get equipment repaired or replaced should part of your system breakdown during a peak election process?
Include a comprehensive conversion plan with time schedules. (You may need additional equipment, workers, a fall back or contingency plan and expect problems.)
Develop acceptance testing criteria for the system. Include it in your specifications or agreement, before you buy, so the vendors will know what you expect the system to be capable of performing.
Visit or talk with election administrators who have signature retrieval systems in operation. Their experience can be very helpful.
Allow yourself enough time to install the system and to convert your data in an orderly manner. Consider installing the system at a slow processing time.
Require that training be provided to several of your staff, specify numbers.
Once a decision to buy a system has been made. Require a solid, written agreement for the installation of the system and conversion of the data.
The vendor usually provides training in the use of the system as part of the contract. Manuals for the ongoing operation of the system also should be required.
Facility modifications to install electrical, phone lines, air conditioning and space need to be determined. They should be completed before the arrival of the equipment. Allow space for staff, equipment servicing and supply storage when deciding needs for the equipment.
The contract should specify when the equipment hardware and software will be delivered. Who will setup the equipment? Who will install software you currently own? Who will work on the conversion? How will the new system work with any system you already have?
The criteria making up the final acceptance and sign off for the new system should be part of the contract. The vendor will know what to expect ahead of time. Consider making partial payments for the equipment throughout the installation process with final payment contingent upon the system working to your satisfaction.
Decide what equipment and software service level is needed. Your level of service may need to change depending on when you are conducting an election and when you are not. On-site service requiring a technician to arrive on-site after a short specified period after placing a call, is the top level of service. Other service options may require you to bring the equipment to the vendor's location. Quickness of response plus on-site customer engineers probably will be the most expensive service agreement you can have. Put service level requirements in your agreement. Ask for what you need and negotiate with the vendor for what best serves your agency.
Conclusions
Many jurisdictions are maintaining a duplicate copy of the voter registration document on microfilm or microfiche. Some jurisdictions are already using optical disk, for the duplicate copy of the voter document.
We believe, the trend in the future will be to store the voter document image on optical disk. The advantages being, the image does not need chemicals to develop. The image can be immediately available. Data could be keyed from the document image, confirming the image is readable. It also maybe possible to scan the image and encode data for the voter data base.
Signature retrieval systems, as with all systems, have problems associated with implementation. Murphy's Law seems always to apply. Based upon our findings the rewards the systems can provide are well worth the effort.
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