Home Departments Clerk Badger Books

What are Badger Books? 
Badger Books...

• Are an electronic version of the paper poll books you are used to seeing at the polls; the process is faster for voters and reduces the potential for errors by poll workers.
• Are used to check in voters, register voters who choose to register at the polls,  and process absentee ballots that have been returned. 
• Maintain the voter number and count independent of poll worker input.
• Simplify the process at the polls because voters are no longer required to get in a line based on their last name or the ward they live in.
• Eliminate countless hours of work put in by Village staff to input election day voter registrations and record voter participation.

On Election Day

• Voter will still state their name and address
• Poll worker will look up the information in the Badger Book
• Voter shows proper photo identification
• Badger Books screen provides all valid types of ID selections that can be used including specific expiration dates
• Poll worker turns the Badger Books screen around and the voter signs with finger
• Machine automatically prints a voter number slip that the voter uses to get their ballot

Registration on Election Day

• Badger Books will ask the poll worker to input what type of ID they received and select what type of Proof of Residence (POR) the voter provided
• Election day registration information is encrypted.

Important things to know

• Badger Books have the entire statewide database so that a poll worker can look up any registered voter in the State of Wisconsin. Poll workers will be able to tell the voter if they are at the right polling location, what forms of ID are accepted, etc.
• The actual process of voting will not change at all. Voters will still vote on paper ballots and will still place those ballots in the tabulator. The tabulator is not connected to the Badger books in any way.
• Badger Books are not connected to the internet or to any other outside source.  They are connected only to each other by a private network within the polling place.  

Short Video on how Badger Books works