30 April, 2018
The Town of Hopkinton announces an electronic voting pilot program that will debut at Town Meeting to increase participation, ensure accuracy, and allow for a prompt tally of votes.
The decision was made to pilot electronic voting with the Boston based company, Voatz, due to the technology, ease of use, security, and on-site support provided at meetings. We are committed to a Town Meeting that allows for full discussion of the the important issues facing Hopkinton, while increasing the efficiency and participation of each meeting.
Residents voting at ATM 2018 will have the ability to vote electronically on their own personal compatible device (Android 2016 or newer or iPhone 5s or newer). If a resident does not have a personal compatible device, there will be dozens of available tablets spread throughout the auditorium where residents will be able to cast their votes. For those that may be mobility impaired or not able to leave their seats, we will have tablets available to be brought over to you.
How does this all work? When you arrive at Town Meeting, check in if you are a registered voter and you will receive a voter card with a QR code (quick response) on it in addition to the color coded voting card you’ve received in the past. This QR code is unique and is your “ticket to vote” electronically.
If you plan to use the Voatz app on your personal device:
You should download and register to use the app prior to the start of Town Meeting, so you’re ready to go for the first vote. You can download the app here: https://hopkintonma.voatz.com/
When you’re at Town Meeting, simply scan the QR code from the vote ticket you received at check-in with your personal compatible device, at which point your device is now authorized to vote. By scanning your QR code, you’ve passed your “ticket to vote” from the paper copy QR code, and onto your device. Any time a vote is required, you will open the Voatz app on your device, and cast your vote. Once you’ve confirmed your selection, you will then authenticate on your phone using the security you’ve setup on your device to “unlock” it (this is device specific and may include a pin, a fingerprint, drawing an unlock pattern, etc.) If you have no security setup on your device to unlock it, you will be prompted to enter the 6-digit code you created when you registered for Voatz. That final step is required to authenticate you as the registered voter on your device.
If you plan to use a tablet provided by Voatz to cast your vote:
You will simply scan your QR code, cast your vote, and then confirm you selection. It’s that easy.
Security Measures:
To prevent potential misuse, each QR code may only be used to vote once per question. That is, if you’ve registered your QR code to your personal device, and have voted on an article, you will be unable to take your QR code to a tablet and vote again on the same article. This authentication is done on a per article or per vote basis. If you’ve been using your personal device to vote for most of the evening, but then run out of battery life, you will be able to take your QR code vote ticket to a tablet station to vote.
If you have questions, please feel free to call the Town Clerk’s office at 508-497-9710 or email at townclerk@hopkintonma.gov.
