Electronic Poll Books To Be Used During Special Election

For Immediate Release
June 10, 2025

Madison voters at the June 17th special election for District 1 Dane County Board of Supervisors will use electronic poll books instead of signing a paper poll book. The City is taking advantage of the smaller special election to observe the technology that has been developed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and used by approximately 400 other Wisconsin communities. The e-poll books, called Badger Books, reduce human error and make both the voting process and post-election data processing more efficient.

Before receiving a ballot at the polls, voters must state their name and address, present photo identification, and sign the poll book. Paper poll books require poll workers to search for the voter’s name and ensure that the voter signs on the correct line next to their name. After the election, voter registration and voter participation data must be uploaded into the statewide voter registration database by individually scanning information related to each voter.

When electronic poll books are used, poll workers search for the voter’s name electronically and the voter signs an electronic signature pad. This eliminates the need to search through pages of a poll book and prevents the voter from signing on the wrong line. Following the election, the data from the electronic poll book can be quickly uploaded into the statewide voter registration using a few clicks instead of scanning the information of each individual voter. This allows voters to view their election participation in MyVote Wisconsin and election officials to identify any discrepancies in the data much more quickly.

“The special election gives us a chance to see how Badger Books work on a small scale,” said Acting Clerk Michael Haas. "Electronic poll books will assist with some of the routine tasks of poll workers and our staff, reducing human error and allowing them to focus on serving voters and more complex tasks.”

Electronic poll books are secured monitors used only for that purpose and they are not connected to the Internet. Special election polling places will have paper poll books available in the event that there is any glitch in the use of the Badger Books. Poll workers will assist voters in using the Badger Books. 

The Clerk’s Office has been working with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to prepare for the use of the Badger Books. The City of Madison is borrowing Badger Books from the City of Sun Prairie which uses them at all elections and staff of the Sun Prairie City Clerk has assisted in training Madison Clerk staff and poll workers. Sun Prairie was the first municipality in the state to use Badger Books in 2018.

“We appreciate the help of our neighbors in Sun Prairie and at the WEC,” said Haas. “Their assistance will allow Madison voters to benefit from the Badger Book technology. We are looking forward to introducing the technology to Madison voters and we invite them to provide their feedback."

The Clerk’s Office will also conduct a public demonstration of how the electronic poll books work on Saturday, June 14 at the Fannie Lou Hamer Annex located at 2713 E. Washington Ave. at 3:30 p.m.