Michigan County is using GPS tracking for election data and hopes to boost confidence in the process

WEST OLIVE, Mich. (SBG) — Stacked boxes in the corner of Michigan’s Ottawa County Clerk’s Office could represent the next level in poll security technology, as the boxes contain dozens of GPA trackers that allow officers to track key election data across the county in real time.

Some counties within the state transmit encrypted election data to the county clerk’s office, where unofficial election results can be verified. This process may take longer depending on the size of the district.

In Ottawa County, election officials now have the unique opportunity to watch the process of releasing the results from the safety of an office chair in the clerk’s office.

It also gives us an idea of ​​when we can expect the results to get to us and be posted on the website,” said Justin Roebuck, Ottawa County Administrator.

In recent years, Ottawa County has used electronic submissions of its unofficial election results, a practice Roebuck said the county wanted to ditch as an added layer of security.

How it works: As the voting machine scans the results of a ballot, the data is transferred to a flash drive that is not connected to the internet. This encrypted drive is tab sealed.

A bipartisan group of poll workers then places the drive in a sealed container that contains the GPS tracker, a device that Roebuck says never stops communicating with the clerk’s office.

Similar to an Apple AirTag, the tracking device then sends a signal with its location to the clerk’s office every five minutes during the movement.

“We can basically see in real time how the results are transmitted to the clerks on site and then, of course, to our office,” explains Roebuck.

Those responsible for the encrypted drive must use US Department of State-certified nylon pouches that are sealed and difficult to open with no obvious signs of tampering.

Roebuck believes Ottawa County will be the first county in Michigan to use this type of technology.

He, like so many other election officials, has seen confidence in the U.S. democratic election process plummet, especially as former President Donald Trump, despite all available evidence, continued to insist that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

“I hope this is a step that increases public confidence in the security of our processes,” Roebuck said. “And I think it’s really important to emphasize that our processes are secure.”

Other counties across the state, like rural Arenac in eastern Michigan, also report results from constituencies, but those counties don’t currently have the ability to track cars.

Arenac County district clerk Nancy Selle, who has been an employee for three years, hadn’t heard about the GPS tracking option until a phone call Monday, but said her district would “absolutely” benefit from the technology.

Selle expressed concern about the many campaign workers who have left the field in recent years. She described many of them as retired members of the community, discouraged by distrust and overwhelmed by the increasing rules governing elections.

Four of Arenac County’s 15 employees are new this year, Selle said, and other employees have said they will no longer run for office.

“Many people don’t want to take part in the elections,” Selle said. “They’re getting very taxing, there’s more demand, and it’s just not as manageable as it used to be.”

While new election technology can be expensive, Roebuck said the trackers represent a very small dollar amount for Ottawa compared to the value of the investment, as they cost about $11,000 in start-up costs and $5,000 per year.

“This also actually replaces about the same cost we paid for the service that activated our electronic modem,” Roebuck said, meaning the devices essentially cost no more money than the county was already paying for electronic transmissions would have spent.

Roebuck said Ottawa County also received a federal grant that allowed his office to receive the devices.

Ottawa is testing the GPS trackers for the first time during Tuesday’s municipal elections, which will be held in only about 14% of the county’s boroughs. Ahead of next year’s midterm elections, county officials said they’re confident in the practice they’ve achieved with the new method.