Missy Bennett
County Clerk

Voting is one of the most powerful privileges a citizen can have. By voting, people have a voice in government by deciding who will represent them. Citizens should be well informed on issues and candidates before going to the polls.

In Pocahontas County, we must have clean and fair elections that people can trust. It is the County Clerk’s responsibility and goal as the county’s chief election official to establish and maintain this trust. The following practices and procedures are in place to insure the privacy of votes cast:

Before any work begins during early voting or on Election Day, poll workers must take an Oath of Election. This oath states in part “that I will not disclose to any person how any voter has voted.” A poll worker cannot be an immediate family member of any candidate. All supplies are delivered to the precincts secured and cannot be opened until all poll workers have arrived.

When you arrive at your precinct to vote, you are escorted to the iVotronic voting machine by a poll worker. After the poll worker has loaded your ballot, you are left to vote in privacy. As you mark your ballot, your choices are displayed on a paper trail for your review. When you complete and cast the ballot, the paper trail advances out of view assuring that the next voter and poll worker will not see your candidate choices.

Your vote is stored electronically and at the end of Election Day, each iVotronic voting machine is “closed” and the votes are collected unto a Master PEB (personal electronic ballot) and secured for transport to the county ourthouse. To assure proper transport of election supplies; two poll workers of separate political parties are required to transport supplies in the same vehicle.

At the courthouse, the PEB is unsealed and read into the computer with Election Software and results are released as a total not by individual ballots.
Neither the iVotronic Voting Machines nor the PEB store any information that identifies a voter.

How will someone know how you vote? Only if:
-If you tell them
-If all ballots at a precinct are cast for one candidate
-If only one ballot is cast in a precinct, meaning you were the lone voter.

An election is a very complex process. This list addresses only a part of the procedures in place to ensure a successful and secure election.

You can be confident that the iVotronic voting system and the election process provides you, as a voter, the right to a secure and private ballot. If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Pocahontas County Clerk’s Office at 304-799-4549.