Modernizing Mail-In Ballot Processing in Nassau County
Like many counties across the United States, the elections in Nassau County, Florida, have seen an unprecedented surge in mail-in ballots since the pandemic. As the volume of incoming ballot envelopes increased, the traditional method of relying on small groups of workers and volunteers to manually process thousands of envelopes had proven to be ineffective. It took far too long to process all the ballots, and staff were overwhelmed. An overwhelmed staff under time pressure tends to increase the risk of errors.
There was an urgent need for a modern solution. With a new election cycle on its way, Nassau County election officials had to find a new way to manage this, and they needed to act fast. A business process automation company called Image One recommended the mail-in ballot processing solution from Kodak Alaris, and together we went to work along with the impressive Nassau County team to design, install, and verify the new system.
Nassau County's pioneering initiative, bolstered by the expertise of Kodak Alaris and Image One, provides a blueprint for other counties facing similar challenges.
The solution included the Kodak i4250 Scanner, which immediately improved the speed and accuracy of their envelope processing. Previously, the Nassau election staff could only process up to 25 ballot envelopes per hour. Now they can process hundreds of ballot envelopes per hour, so it has made a huge and immediate difference.
With a more efficient solution in place, the county has also reduced the stress that comes with mission-critical work under urgent time pressure. It’s now a healthier work environment for everyone involved.
In addition to faster ballot processing and reducing the pressure on staff, the solution has also helped Nassau Country comply with legislation on records retention. Instead of relying on physical storage of these paper records, the county staff can easily digitize everything to create a searchable database that makes it easy to locate and validate ballot records when requested.
A Model of Election Success for Other Counties
Nassau County's pioneering initiative, bolstered by the expertise of Kodak Alaris and Image One, provides a blueprint for other counties facing similar challenges. In an era where elections are scrutinized more than ever, it’s critical to ensure the timely and accurate processing of ballots. Nassau County's success story provides an example for other counties in the US and beyond, and it underscores the importance of finding the right technology solutions to transform challenges into opportunities.
