2009 News

January 7, 2009

Board of Elections Announces Results of Post-November, 2008 Judge of Elections Survey

On Nov. 4, 2008, more than 322,000 Bucks County residents – or nearly 75 percent of the county’s registered voters - cast ballots in the county’s 304 voting districts as part of the General Election. In an effort to gather information about the efficacy of that voting process, the county Board of Elections (Charles H. Martin, chairman, James F. Cawley, Esq. and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW) joined with the county Planning Commission to conduct a 19-question, Judge of Elections survey.

More than two-thirds of the 304 Judges of Election responded to the majority of the questions, and the results painted a strong level of comfort with the Danaher 1242 electronic touch-screen machines that the Bucks County electorate has utilized since November, 2006.

Asked “Did the machines function well?” 200 of 207 respondents replied, “Yes,” a 96.6-percent approval. The Judges of Election were even more affirmative regarding the question, “Are the machines easy for you to use as an election official?” A total of 198 of 204 respondents (or 97.1 percent) answered, “Yes.”

Other questions focusing on the Danaher units included: “Did your polling place have an adequate number of machines?” and, “Based on your observations, were the machines easy for voters to use?” Two-hundred of 206 respondents (97.1 percent) felt their precinct had an adequate number of machines, and 192 of 202 (95 percent) observed that the machines were “easy for voters to use.” Additionally, 193 of 206 Judges of Election felt their polling place “had an adequate number of poll workers.”

According to the survey, there were several areas the Judges of Elections wished to bring the county’s attention, such as staffing issues at the polling places, training and voter education issues, and various other process-related items.   

Board of Elections Chairman Martin noted, “We were extremely pleased with the number of respondents. These answers have provided us a working database about the dynamics of a large turnout on Election Day. We are pleased to discover that the vast majority of our Judges of Election are pleased with the process. I’d also like to thank the Planning Commission for its assistance with this important survey.”  Martin added that concerns raised in the survey results could be considered for future fine-tuning once they are discussed further.

To view the Judge of Elections Survey results in their entirety, please visit the Board of Elections' web pages.