Inside the e-pollbook technology powering polling places across southeastern Pa.

Some voters going to the polls in the Philly metro area will be checked in on Apple iPads. In other places, poll workers will use a Microsoft Surface tablet.

And in Chester County, they’ll still turn the pages of a paper book.

Philadelphia and its four collar counties use varying systems to confirm registration and issue the correct ballot to each voter on Nov. 3, according to official records viewed by Technical.ly.

Most use electronic pollbooks (e-pollbooks), which can simplify check-ins but need a strong backup plan, said Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, an organization that advocates for responsible technology use in elections.

“[E-pollbooks are] a great tool. If they don’t work, they can really slow things down,” Smith told Technical.ly. “People are really paying attention to: What’s plan B?”

“If they don’t work, they can really slow things down. People are really paying attention to: What’s plan B?”

Last spring, Technical.ly and Bucks County Beacon submitted open records requests to each county to find out more about their backup plans, and learn what training and guardrails they have to make sure the tech doesn’t disrupt voting.

E-pollbooks gained popularity because they make it easier to look up voters and confirm their identities, speeding up check-in, Smith said. They also allow poll workers to update voter information in real time and simplify the process of reconciling votes after the polls close.

But problems with pollbooks have put Pennsylvania’s voter check-in systems under scrutiny. In 2025, an e-pollbook in Fayette County wasn’t updated in time, leading to errors in tracking who had voted.

That same year, Chester County showed that the risks aren’t limited to electronic systems. The county, along with more than 30 others in Pennsylvania, still relies exclusively on paper pollbooks. An error in preparing Chester County’s printed voter lists left off voters registered as independents or with third parties. The problem disrupted check-in and led to increased use of provisional ballots.

Chester County has since explored switching to an electronic system, issuing a request for information about e-pollbook vendors last spring. Based on the records Technical.ly received, however, the county has not yet selected a vendor or signed a contract.

Delaware County did not provide documents in response to Technical.ly’s request. Records from the other counties offer a closer look at the technology used across the Philly metro region and how election officials prepare for Election Day.

State rules govern pollbook security and connectivity

Pennsylvania requires e-pollbooks to receive state approval and meet standards for security and connectivity. Its requirements also call for contingency plans to address equipment failures and preserve the voter check-in process.

Counties that choose to use e-pollbooks must select a system from the list of options approved by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The state evaluates the technology and outlines how it can be used within state standards.

One question the state has explored is whether e-pollbooks should be allowed to connect to the internet during elections. Right now, e-pollbook systems cannot be online on election day.

Pennsylvania had planned to test internet connectivity during the May 2026 primary, inviting volunteer counties to evaluate the potential benefits and drawbacks. Strict limits and a small sample size were intended to minimize risk.

Shortly before the election, however, the state postponed the test until at least 2027, citing low interest and unresolved technical questions.

Connectivity is also a cybersecurity concern. E-pollbooks can introduce risks, including unauthorized access to voter information and compromised or inaccurate records. State certification requirements and county safeguards are designed to reduce those risks, but security also depends on how a system is configured, maintained and used.

Incidents involving election technology can also undermine public confidence. Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology has found that cyberattacks can hurt voters’ trust in elections.

The technology behind electronic voter check-ins

Two e-pollbook systems are used in southeastern Pennsylvania. They differ in how devices communicate offline.

Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware counties use Knowink Poll Pads. According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s latest evaluation, the system is prohibited from connecting to Knowink’s cloud server, ePulse, on Election Day. The tablets can still operate in “peer-to-peer mode,” allowing them to share information locally without an internet connection.

Philadelphia uses ES&S ExpressPoll e-pollbooks. The county uses a wireless router that operates without an internet connection, creating a local network where pollbooks at the same polling place can share updates to voter check-in records.

The systems also use different hardware. Poll Pads run on Apple iPads, while ExpressPoll uses Microsoft Surface Go tablets. Both meet AES-256 encryption standards to protect voter data.

Despite those differences, both systems are designed to help poll workers check in voters efficiently and securely, Smith said.

Preparing for pollbook problems on Election Day

Even systems designed to work offline can encounter problems. A device might fail to start, a poll worker might be unable to look up a voter’s registration, or a technical issue might prevent check-ins from being recorded correctly.

Having a backup is only part of the solution. Poll workers need to know when to use it and who to contact for help.

This story originally was published by Technical.ly and the Bucks County Beacon.
Their series “Behind the Ballot” investigates the people, technology and systems behind election administration in Bucks County ahead of the 2026 midterms. The series examines what safeguards exist, how they are implemented and what voters can verify for themselves, with support from the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative and the Fund for Investigative Journalism