News and Articles

From the Office of the County Clerk

The use of vote centers to replace traditional polling places is a hot topic in the election world. Simply put, a vote center is a polling place where any eligible voter in the county may go to vote. It is a relatively new concept, which reduces or eliminates traditional precinct voting and creates a type of super precinct, allowing voters to cast ballots anywhere in the county.

The vote center model gives voters more flexibility on Election Day because they are not constrained to a specific polling location. Vote centers are connected through secure internet connections, and as ballots are cast, an electronic poll book is instantaneously updated.

In addition to voter convenience, there are cost advantages to using vote centers -- having larger but fewer polling places reduces facilities costs, voting system costs and election worker expenses. Potential disadvantages include possible inconvenience for rural voters, the need for internet connectivity, the need to find and procure larger polling locations with adequate parking, and general voter resistance to change.

A county may use vote centers for 100% of the voting within the county or, to accommodate rural voters, a combination of vote centers and traditional polling places. Geraldine Salazar, Santa Fe County Clerk, states, “Santa Fe County is currently studying the feasibility and desirability of using vote centers as a substitute for some or all of the County’s traditional polling places. Vote centers are already being used in several counties throughout the State, and it is time for the Clerk’s Office to work towards implementing vote centers in Santa Fe County.” Robert Parker, Bureau of Elections Chief Deputy, agrees: “We intend to take a close look at what other counties have done and study the latest research to determine how vote centers can best be used in our county.”