Douglas County, Kansas 2022 Clearinghouse Award Submission
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RFID Technology in Election Management
2022 EAC Clearinghouse Award Submission
Category: Outstanding Innovation in Elections
Submitted by:
Douglas County Clerk
Kansas
Submitter:
Jamie Shew, Douglas County Clerk/County Election Officer
1100 Massachusetts St.
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-832-5181
www.douglascountyelections.com
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Background and Overview
There are 83,000 registered voters in Douglas County, Kansas. While it is the fifth
largest county in Kansas, Douglas County is a small/medium size election jurisdiction in
the United States. We are faced with typical challenges of election offices including:
limited resources while expected to address a growing expectation of security,
monitoring and documentation of election equipment. As legislatures and advocacy
groups increase the requirements for election offices, there are rarely additional funds
allocated for upgrades. While smaller jurisdictions may lack the internal resources
available to larger jurisdictions, it does not mean creative innovation is impossible. In
fact, we this requires our offices to be creative in our solutions. The RFID project is an
example of collaboration with technology partners to create an economic, sustainable
solution to a pressing need in election management and logistics chain-of-custody
improvements.
Problem/Challenges
When election equipment is stored in a warehouse/secure room/office, it is under the
direct supervision of the election officer and staff. During each election, however, that
same equipment is distributed to polling places throughout the jurisdiction, either by
staff or delivery companies. The need to establish chain-of-custody for equipment,
especially precinct tabulators, electronic pollbooks and HAVA-compliant accessibility
devices, has been and continues to be a priority for election operations. Deployment of
equipment outside the central office/warehouse to remote locations exacerbates
challenges with chain-of-custody monitoring.
Delivery of equipment demands a well-organized process which requires logistical
coordination of schedules, monitoring delivery, and securely setting-up equipment at the
polling place. Chain-of-custody systems need to track specific equipment deployed
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while minimizing human error (i.e. recording the wrong piece of equipment on a paper
form) and without delaying the delivery process. Additionally, at the central location
when equipment is opened for maintenance, testing or at any other time it is handled,
logging these events needs to be efficient and correct.
Any solution to chain-of-custody challenges must use technology that quickly and
accurately tracks equipment, while maintaining current labor utilization and not slow-
down delivery to each polling place. The system must be economically viable with
limited on-going costs yet provide efficient tracking and reporting. The Douglas County
election office does not have a dedicated IT department and needed to find a third-party
to partner with in order to develop and implement a new equipment management
system.
Program Objectives
1. Establish chain-of-custody for each piece of equipment both while in storage and
when deployed at a location off-site, i.e., advance voting or election day polling
locations.
2. System tracks specific pieces of equipment, allowing for the creation of historical
data on each item including maintenance, testing, and deployment.
3. Develop a method where equipment can be tracked throughout deployment
which includes correctly identifying what is loaded on each truck for delivery.
4. Create a method for polling place set-up technicians to record the equipment
delivered to each polling place that is not manual, i.e., recorded on paper, that
does not slow down the delivery process and accurately records the activity.
5. Allow the central office to monitor and verify equipment that is being delivered
and returned.
6. Establish a system that will identify a specific piece of equipment in the storage
location but has the capability of large scale recording of events and equipment.
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7. Compensate for limited staffing resources and reduce logging and tracking
procedures.
8. Enhance security of equipment by increasing the level of tracking and logging the
use of specific equipment in the polling place.
Initial Concept
In 2019, during a planning meeting for an election worker management system
implementation with the Modus Election Software team, Douglas County Clerk Jamie
Shew proposed the idea of adding a barcode scanning system for equipment tracking
and chain-of-custody in the polling place to the software. The challenges previously
discovered by the election staff with barcode implementation were discussed. As the
Douglas County team worked with the Modus team, the idea of utilizing radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags and readers for this project was put forward. The technology
partner had already been working on how to utilize RFID technology in an election
environment. RFID tags allow for one-click scanning of entire locations and large
groups of equipment, yet it is also capable of targeted scanning of singular pieces of
equipment. RFID technology is used in retail/warehouse operations for inventory
control and security and other operations which require correct tracking of equipment.
Partnering with Modus allowed for integration into the asset management module of
their system and leveraging the technological expertise of their programmers and staff.
RFID Technology
While the initial idea for chain-of-custody tracking was to use barcodes, our office found
them to be cumbersome, requiring that each piece of equipment was scanned while
standing next to it. This slowed down delivery and was not efficient in implementation.
The use of RFID tags offered the possibility of scanning large areas with accuracy and
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speed while logging multiple pieces of equipment at the same time. While barcodes
can be implemented with limited technology expertise and investment, these positives
did not outweigh the negative impacts on our processes. Initially, there were concerns
about the use of radio frequency tags on equipment, but research found they have no
impact on electronic components as these are the same tags used at electronic
equipment stores to discourage theft.
Our office contemplated potential concerns from stakeholders and was proactive in
researching answers. For example, would the tags allow someone to have access to
the election equipment if they hacked the tag? No, the tags are not tied to anything on
the equipment they are on the outside, there is no way someone could access the tag
and get access to equipment. Additionally, gaining access to the internal functions of
the tag does not give a bad actor access to the internal secure structure of equipment.
The RFID tag is basically an identification number which ties to a database of events.
Changing something on the tag just creates a false reading which does not log the
piece of equipment, but it does not compromise the integrity of the tabulator.
Implementation
In 2021 our partner, Modus Elections Software, coordinated a small consortium of
counties and cities from three midwestern states to understand the business need and
define a coordinated solution. The Modus team completed development before making
new technologies available in a preview release. Our office participated in a pilot of the
new system in a live election scenario. During deployment for the 2021 city/school
election in November, a trial was set-up using RFID tags on the equipment on a single
delivery route and tested scanning with cellular phones and RFID scanners along with
beta testing the mobile application for scanning. The route was chosen to include urban
and rural polling places with a variety of location sizes. At the time, the scope of the
testing focused on tagging precinct tabulators and ADA ballot marking devices. The
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Modus team was on-site to assist with the pilot and document on-site field usage while
working with the Douglas County staff and equipment technicians. While in the delivery
process, potential scenarios which could be problematic were tested and monitored by
the staff at the election office. One of the challenges that emerged included how to
compensate for areas of the county where limited cellular access restricted live
monitoring. Additionally, how to flag if a technician accidentally logged equipment at the
same location twice. We participated in a group debrief which allowed our technology
partner to further improve and enhance RFID features before offering to a wider
audience.
Full Deployment
After the success of the 2021 tests, Douglas County moved forward with full
implementation and expanded use of the RFID tags beyond the precinct tabulator and
ADA marking device. The test was so successful that the staff started mapping the
ways to use the RFID tags on every piece of equipment deployed to the polling place.
Staff set-up tags non-essential supply bags and each voting booth. Expanding
implementation to every piece of equipment not only allowed the Douglas County staff
to verify delivery and security of election tabulating equipment but to verify in real time
that the correct number of voting booths was delivered to each polling place.
The Douglas County staff expanded use of the app to alert correct delivery mistakes,
including tracking the quantity of items delivered. The staff assign the number of each
item allocated to the polling place, for example 10 voting booths at the American
Legion. If the technicians scan the room logging only 9 voting booths, they receive a
real time message informing them of the discrepancy. They can fix the problem while
still on site rather than finding out on election day. The election office also receives an
alert message in case the crew misses the problem.
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The RFID system was not only used for delivery but for equipment pick-up and return by
Supervising Judges. Under Kansas law, there are secure items which must be picked
up the afternoon before election day and returned on election night. The judge signs a
form which is witnessed by a staff member. By tagging every bag and equipment being
deployed, the election office can have one more level of monitoring that the equipment
was picked-up and delivered correctly. After the form is signed, the staff member scans
the stack of equipment which logs this chain-of-custody transfer in the Modus system,
creating a chain-of-custody record in addition to the required paper forms which could
potentially be destroyed or lost.
Scanning Devices
There are two methods for scanning equipment. The RFID scanner is versatile, using
different power levels for scanning, depending on the need. When logging equipment
on a truck or staged in the warehouse for delivery, the highest power setting can be
used to quickly log everything in the truck or in a stack ready for deployment. This
setting is also used in a polling place to scan an entire room after set-up. The quick
scan of a room reduces the impact on time during delivery, which was a priority goal in
setting up the RFID system. Our delivery schedules are extremely tight, adding a
tracking system which did not require additional personnel or add significant time was
important. The scanner can also be dialed to a lower setting which allows for identifying
and scanning a specific piece of equipment. If staff is looking for a specific piece of
equipment in the warehouse, they can walk along the rows scanning until that item is
identified and singled out by the scanner.
Our technology partner developed a mobile app which allows staff to use a cellular
phone to scan equipment and log events. The RFID scanners are expensive, therefore
use can be restricted by the number purchased and available, but if the staff is
somewhere without a scanner they can use their cell phone app to scan the RFID tag
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and log an event. For example, if the staff are in the warehouse pulling equipment for
maintenance, rather than go find a scanner, they can pull out a cell phone and log the
event. While the scanner is more efficient, especially for larger scans, the development
of the mobile app helps control costs for election offices with limited resources.
Lessons Learned
1. Communication with your equipment vendor is essential; placement of the RFID
tag on equipment in an area which does not potentially impact operations is
important.
2. There are different types of RFID tags which are better suited for a variety of
equipment. RFID tags are designed for attachment to metal or non-metal
surfaces to eliminate any potential interference to the signal transmission.
3. In the warehouse/storage environment, the knowledge and testing of the RFID
scanners is important to avoid logging too many items with a higher setting or not
enough items with a lower setting.
4. Using the RFID process during board worker return on election night, allows our
staff to notice if something is missing or not scanned almost immediately. The
larger setting on the RFID scanner also allows the staff to quickly scan a large
room and find the missing piece of equipment. We are currently exploring RFID
readers installed in tables, when the election board places the bags on the table
it will automatically read and log the items as returned.
5. While the initial reason for this project was to document and track election
equipment, additional benefits were identified. One of the problems which can
occur during deployment is a delivery truck falls behind and impacts an already
tight schedule. By monitoring the RFID scans at the central location in real time
and utilizing a calendar system in Modus, election staff can not only see if a truck
is behind schedule but also how far behind. The staff can start calling polling
places on that route to communicate the altered schedule to the person waiting
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to give the delivery team access to the building. In some areas of our county, a
building is secured and a township officer is waiting for the delivery team. If the
delivery schedule is falling behind, we can communicate and avoid frustration
from the person meeting our staff.
Sustainability
As we found with this project, there is no limitation to expanding the utilization of this
program other than running out of items to track. The scope of the project has
expanded from the original goal of tracking tabulators and ballot marking devices to
bags, voting booths, tables, and chairs deployed to a polling place. We are discussing
new ways to leverage this technology. Are there items within the bags that we would
also like to track? Do we stage the small items going into envelopes, do we use the
tags to log when we stock those items? For example, we use color coded envelopes for
opening documents (green), closing documents (red), signs (yellow) and forms (blue).
In the months prior to the election, do we attach a tag to the envelope and when the
forms are added, we scan the envelope, log the event and record the item has been
added?
The database software is extremely flexible and can be configured to our needs, so
events logged can be as granular as expected by the office. Currently, our most
common events are logged, i.e., maintenance, testing, deployment. We have discussed
creating events that log every time a piece of equipment is touched, even changing the
paper before an election, and creating a complete record of equipment activity.
The next step for this project is identifying the cost and resources needed to set up
stationary security scanners at each entrance/exit of the warehouse. These scanners
would look like the security devices at retail stores which alert employees if someone is
attempting to steal an item. By placing scanners at the points of entry/exit, the election
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staff would have documentation and would be alerted if a piece of equipment is moved
from the warehouse. This would not only improve documentation of movement but
increase physical security measures for the equipment.
Recently, Kansas legislature passed a law which requires tracking ballots as they are
moved within an election office or outside of the office. The Douglas County elections
staff developed a spreadsheet to comply with the law, but it is cumbersome, not
conducive to high traffic advance voting times when ballots are being moved to reload
the stock at advance sites and relied on staff remembering to document each
movement. The Douglas County staff is working on a system which would utilize an
RFID scanning process for tracking ballot movement.
When ballots are received from the printer and unpacked, they could have a tag
attached to each packet of 25, 50 or 100 and logged by ballot style. When a packet is
moved, the staff member would log the even and scan the tag. Because of the phone
app, this feature could be used in the field for satellite advance voting sites. We could
also expand ballot tracking for use on election day, as each packet is opened by
election board workers, it would be scanned and documented. This process does have
some challenges still being addressed. While it is not expensive to use RFID tags on a
single piece of equipment, assigning a new tag for each bundle of ballots could get cost
prohibitive. Therefore, a system would have to be in place where ballots could be
stored in a reusable box with an attached tag. The tags would be re-assigned each
election. While RFID tags may not be the best option, the Douglas County staff has
learned it is an efficient way to track items so we continue to see the applicability of this
process. With every planning conversation, we ask, “can we put an RFID tag on that?”.
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Cost-Effectiveness
The cost of implementing this system depends on the capability of an office to develop
their own database or partner with a company which can provide that service. The app
is not necessary, but it has become a critical tool for our operation. Most cell phones
can now scan RFID tags, they could be used in place of the RFID scanners but it limits
the ability to make large scans of rooms and trucks.
Hard costs include purchasing the RFID tags and scanners, if needed. While RFID tags
are more expensive than barcodes, we have found the savings in time and accuracy
outweigh the costs. Regular RFID tags cost about $1.00/each and the metal-surface
tags are approximately $2.00/each. The larger RFID scanner that we use in our
operation is about $1750. As mentioned, a cell phone can also be used as a RFID
scanner, but it limits the ability to scan large areas. As chain-of-custody best practices
evolve to meet the expectations of both internal and external stakeholders, investing in
technologies to meet those expectations while limiting increasing staffing capacity is
important. This project has proven to be a cost-efficient way to make a large impact on
our ability to meet those expectations as we will discuss later in this paper.
Replicability
Douglas County used a third-party to assist with building the platform for the RFID
project because we did not have the internal staffing, or the knowledge skill set for
implementation. While we understood how it would work, we needed expertise to make
it happen. This does not mean every election office would need to work with a third-
party vendor for this type of project. RFID technology is used in stores, warehouses
and inventory control systems everywhere. The technology used, the tags and
scanners are off the shelf products. The tags are relatively inexpensive without the
need for replacement. There are different types of scanners and manufacturers, testing
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by an office will find a scanner that works for their operation. Offices with larger
operations could most likely set up databases that work with the scanning technology.
But utilizing a third-party vendor is also not extremely expensive compared to the return
on investment.
Outreach Efforts/Positive Results
Increasingly, election offices are being asked to account for questions on security,
chain-of-custody, and accountability. Every system, process or procedure that we can
improve, while also demonstrating the diligence taken by our office in implementing
these changes, is a worthwhile investment. As we have hosted groups or individuals for
information sessions, our office is able to show the RFID system as the way we are
tracking, monitoring and accounting for equipment. The RFID system has received
positive responses with citizens who have said it really impressed them the level to
which we were tracking our equipment.
In 2022, the Kansas Legislature asked for an audit of election security in local election
offices. The Legislative Post Audit office selected a handful of counties for
investigation. Douglas County was one of those counties. The Legislative Post Audit
staff submitted a random selection of equipment with questions about testing and
deployment. Our office was able to go into our tracking system and print full historical
records of testing, maintenance, deployment. The ability to not only produce these
records, but to do it with minimal effort was worth everything we invested in this project,
both in human and fiscal resources. Additional, producing these records easily without
sorting through piles of paper exhibits the professionalism of our office to counter a
misperception of election offices having no controls or interest in security, chain-of-
custody. The ability to show this to our legislature was worth all of the investment in this
project.
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Conclusion
Recently, while researching for this submission, we have learned Alameda County,
California (883,942 registered voters) first experimented with RFID technology in 2008.
They were able to utilize their internal resources for implementation, at a time when the
introduction of the technology was extremely cost prohibitive for most offices. Often, the
largest counties with the most resources can harness the equipment and funds for a
project like this one and smaller jurisdictions feel innovation is not possible. Technology
has advanced to allow us to be creative without the limitations of excessive cost and
staffing. This project shows how use of the technology advancements in RFID tags, cell
phone applications and database management tools has allowed a small/medium size
county to implement an innovative approach to a complex problem. Additionally, this
RFID project exhibits the development of sustainable and replicable systems which can
be scalable for any size jurisdiction. We are in a time where technology is now
accessible for election offices in ways that are not only cost-effective but are also
flexible to meet the imaginations and creativity which have always been part of how we
face the challenges of managing a complex ever-changing environment. Douglas
County submits this submission not only to celebrate the success of this project, but to
also show that regardless of size innovation really is possible.
