The old way was like wedding planning. This is going to happen, we’re going to roll the machines out, collect the results and move on to the next election.
But now we are now able to automatically track sensitive equipment and ballots, saving us significant time and increasing the security of our election process. The world has changed, and we had to change with it.
Nick Custodio
Deputy Commissioner for Chairwoman Lisa Deeley
Customer
City of Philadelphia Department of Elections.
Partner
CDW and Zebra
Challenge
Transform the painstaking pen-and- paper method of tracking voting equipment, accessories and ballots (materials) to minimize inefficiencies in election logistics and gain real-time insight of materials returns.
Solution
Zebra MC3330 Mobile RFID Scanners, Zebra FX9600 Fixed RFID Readers, InThing’s Voting Equipment Tracking Software (VETS)
Results
Provide city staff and public safety partners with real-time location updates for each item, which is highly valuable during the hectic returns process. Items such as media sticks or poll books that are incorrectly placed are flagged, something the old method couldn’t catch until much later.
The 'old way' of tracking voting equipment
The way voters cast their votes has changed over time due to factors like technology, complexity and the recent pandemic. But one constant in the election process is the importance of accuracy and security. According to the Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, more than one million people are registered to vote in the city of Philadelphia alone. This creates the potential for a hectic election night for officials as they gather ballots and other materials after the polls have closed.
Existing Challenges
♦ Before the November 2019 general election, the Philadelphia Department of Elections relied primarily on pen and paper to track the deployment and return of high priority voting equipment and materials, including ballots.
♦ Police officers and other poll officials were expected to file time-consuming paperwork as bags of ballots and other sensitive materials were passed along, and eventually returned to the proper officials, creating concerns for chain of custody.
♦ Bottlenecks in kitting, auditing, distributing, tracking and gathering voting materials and maintaining the chain of custody of voting equipment were challenges that were slowing down the electoral system.
Intervention of VETS
♦ InThing Voting Equipment Tracking Solution (VETS) was introduced as a way to solve existing challenges which were no more working.
♦ With the purpose of having the best of the best for its highly contested elections, Philadelphia city needed a secure, intuitive, off-the-shelf solution, robust enough to support their mission-critical operations with minimal user training.
♦ Running on the Government Cloud which provided the necessary security layer that the City needed, VETS has the Chain of Custody Control, Precinct-based Kitting, Voting Kit Audit, Delivery Validation, Automated Receiving, Real-Time Reporting and Exception Handling built into the system for rapid deployment within days.
Transformation of election logistics
♦ Philadelphia first used the Zebra-InThing solution in November 2020 for managing 3,500 voting machines across 720 polling locations. The City had tagged about 1,700 items and managed its chain of custody from the initial audit at the warehouse to the final reconciliation post- elections using the system.
♦ During the most recent election cycle in November 2021, the City scaled up its solution to include about 17,000 items, more locations and tighter control on the movement of materials.
♦ InThing’s VETS provides real-time inventory data and audits the contents of the voting machines. Police officers and City officials use InThing’s software loaded on the MC3300R RFID handheld scanner to confirm what they have in their possession without tampering with the seal, making it easier, error-proof and much faster than their former manual approach.
Transforming the logistics and security of elections
Ushering a new era in upholding election integrity, trust and transparency
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APPLIED MATERIALS INC.
Applied Materials is a leading global provider of equipment, services, and software to enable the manufacture of semiconductor, flat-panel display, and solar photovoltaic products. InThing's RFID-based asset visibility solution saves this hi-tech lab, $1M annually.
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