Precinct Tracker

What is it?
The Precinct Tracker is a Web-based application that allows Elections Office staff and the public to know the exact location of ballots and voting equipment on Election Day and Night. Colors on the site change as barcodes on ballots and equipment are scanned, allowing you to see the status of any precinct in the county. Are ballots at the polls, a receiving station, elections headquarters on Tower Road, or already in the count? It's our way to provide you with transparent access to the election.

 

How does it work?
Most every piece of election equipment is barcoded. Key pieces include:

• eSlate - electronic voting machine on which you cast your ballot
• Judge's Booth Controller (JBC) - used by poll workers to operate the eSlates
• Mobile Ballot Box (MBB) - memory card inside the JBCs which store votes cast
• Blue ballot box - receptacle for voted paper ballots
• Red suitcase - mobile storage unit to hold all polling place supplies

Each of these components is barcoded and affiliated with a numbered precinct. These precinct components are scanned at each location in the chain of custody on Election Daym and Night. The scanning process updates the Precinct Tracker, and the location and status of a precinct’s components appear online in real time.

Here’s what each color on the Precinct Tracker grid means:

Color	Location of Ballots & Equipment	Status
Blue	At Elections Office	L&A testing done; in storage awaiting Election Day
Red	At precinct	In use at polling place
Orange	At receiving station	Delivered by poll workers after polls closed
Yellow	At Elections Office	In process to prepare for tallying of ballots
Green	At Elections Office	Ballots tallied; in bonded inventory

Once the polls close, poll workers complete a series of security and chain-of-custody logs, reconcile voted and un-voted ballots and pack up their precinct. The eSlates, JBCs, MBBs, blue ballot boxes and red suitcases for each precinct are driven by two poll workers to a designated receiving station. Upon arrival, the contents are scanned (orange on the Precinct Tracker) and then transferred to a transport truck. A different two-person team drives the loaded transport truck to the Elections Office on Tower Road in San Mateo.

Once at the Elections Office, everything is unloaded, scanned again (yellow on the Precinct Tracker) and processed. MBBs are then delivered to Elections Officials in our secure tally room to be electronically read. After the MBBs are read, one last scan is made (green on the Precinct Tracker), indicating that the votes cast at that precinct have been counted.

The Precint Tracker creates a chain-of-custody record of ballots and voting equipment that is easily accessible by voters. Click here to view it.