GPS Devices to Track Election Equipment in Maricopa County
A new plan to better organize election results in Maricopa County will start with the installation of GPS technology into all voting equipment. The new program, which will begin in March during the school district elections, will utilize GPS devices to track all 17,000 pieces of election equipment. The plan should be in full swing by the May sales-tax and local elections.
Thought to be the first program of its kind in Arizona, and perhaps the entire country, GPS technology will inform officials when the equipment reaches destinations such as polling locations and the county’s warehouse in Phoenix. GPS technology can also determine if equipment holding information has been interfered with.
Terry Thompson, the information-technology director for the County’s Recorder Office, believes the program will instill more stability in the election process and leave participants more satisfied. “It (the program) will snap the coordinates of the locations through GPS devices so when we’re looking up a piece of equipment, we can locate exactly where it’s at.”
Even though the program has a price tag of $248,000 from the federal Help America Vote Act, GPS technology will definitely put the funds to great use by ensuring election authenticity and efficiency.
(Via The Arizona Republic)
