Countywide Polling Place Program

Also referred to as Vote Centers. A polling place system in which the county election precinct polling places are eliminated and instead any registered voter eligible to vote in the county-run election may vote at any polling place open on election day; similar to the way an early voting polling place is used. A county must meet the following minimum requirements: (1) exclusive use of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems at all polling places; (2) implementation of a computerized voter registration list that allows instantaneous verification that a voter has not already voted at another polling place; and (3) if the county has not participated in one of the previous countywide election precinct programs, it must hold a public hearing to inform and solicit opinions from voters, minority organizations, and other interested parties. For an election held in the first year in which the county holds an election under the program, the total number of countywide polling places may not be less than 65% of the number of precinct polling places that would otherwise have been used in the last equivalent election. For subsequent elections, this number drops to 50%.