The California County Information Systems Directors Association (CCISDA) Innovation award program was established to salute IT professionals in California County government organizations for their dedication, hard work and innovative contributions. Nevada County won the California Counties Award in the under 700,000 population category for the work on the Vote Center Initiative.
The Nevada County Elections Department was one of five counties in California to serve as a pilot for the Voters Choice Act, a new law passed in 2016 that will modernize elections in California by allowing counties to conduct elections under a new model which provides greater flexibility and convenience for voters. Traditional polling places were replaced by vote centers.
The requirements of the Voters Choice Act necessitated a multi-disciplinary team to develop a solution that included new applications, new networking requirements and mobile technology; all while maintaining strict security protocols. The project team consisted of staff from Information Systems and from the Elections Office.
This new model had never been implemented before, from the elections staff business process changes in the vote centers to the vote center new connectivity implementation. The entire process of verifying electronic records in real time at the remote vote centers, to issuing ballots, to casting a vote was completely overhauled.
The Information Systems (IS) cross-divisional team worked collaboratively to develop a new and innovative solution to the Elections Vote Center project. The team brainstormed solutions and tested various configurations in-house and in the field. The teamwork between the Applications and Network Divisions and Elections was outstanding. The final solution met all requirements and Election Day went off without a hitch.