The Kansas City Election Board has installed an update that should help voters cast their ballots much faster on April 5.
"Oh it'll be dramatic. From a person coming in on March 15 and waiting maybe three or four minutes, to somebody waiting 10 seconds. I think it'll make a big difference on election day," said Republican Director of Elections Shawn Kieffer.
How voters cast their ballot won't change, but their individual data files have been streamlined. That makes the process faster.
41 Action News tested the process ourselves and, on average, were able to pull up voter data using a driver's license in the target time of about 10 seconds or less.
When it comes to election workers, Kieffer said, "I just think they're very tired from March 15 and they're hoping that we get our program going correctly and I think they're excited to get back out there."
We talked to Mary Scholbe, who worked at a Kansas City polling site on primary day. "By the time 7:00 rolled around, people were circled around the library and out through the double doors," Scholbe said.
The last voter stepped inside at 9 p.m. on March 15. When we told her about the update and how much it will speed up the process, Scholbe added, "I'm hoping that is indeed the case."
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
