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Date: 3/29/2023
BELCHERTOWN — A more modern way to vote at Town Meeting may be coming to Belchertown soon.
At its March 20 meeting, the Select Board approved $10,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds that will allow the town clerk to purchase 300 clickers for voting.
“I have been looking at this for about five years. Its growing need I think is coming to this town,” Town Clerk Terry Camerlin added.
Camerlin has investigated two different companies who offer clickers for voting. She added that Ware and South Hadley have used this method of voting and have had nothing bad to say about it.
With clicker voting, everyone would remain anonymous. The town moderator would put up the warrant article on the big screen. The voting would be open for around 20 seconds and the votes would appear on the screen right away.
Camerlin added, “It’s not a rolling count so you can’t see how the run is going. The results will pop up at the end.”
Clicker numbers could also be displayed on the screen “like a bingo board” according to Camerlin, and the voter’s clicker would turn a color when you vote without anyone knowing the response.
Each clicker would have a yes, no and abstain button on the front and its own individual number on the back.
Each resident would also be given a card with instructions on how to use the clicker. That same card could be used in case technology fails, and the town meeting has to go back to a hand vote.
Camerlin further explained when a resident checks in on the poll pad before Town Meeting, they would be issued a clicker with a number to identify everyone in case someone does not return their clicker.
Camerlin added, “Some of the benefits of clicker voting is we have changed from voice vote because we found out it was about who was the loudest and not who had to most people. Then we went to the cards. I have heard residents are not fond of that because some do not want their neighbors to know who they are voting for. They have said that they just don’t vote.”
Another benefit, according to Camerlin, is that it would speed up the meeting and eliminate the current method of counting raised hands.
The system also allows that any amendments that might be made on the floor can be changed so that voters can vote on the amendment and then the warrant.
Camerlin added how the security aspect of the system is safe.
“It is completely offline. There is no internet connected so nobody can hack into it. It is a standalone system. There is also no way to record what vote was conducted after the fact which means we can’t look up who might have voted a certain way,” Camerlin said.
Camerlin said that she will contact to the company and try and get the system set up for the upcoming Town Meeting in May.
She added that during the first meeting at which the clickers are used, a vendor would be in charge and walk the town through how to use the program and a certain member of the town government would be assigned the job for future meetings.
“I feel like we would get a better, truer feel of the town votes if we had a system where you aren’t raising your hand in front of your neighbor,” Camerlin said.
The Select Board unanimously agreed that this way of voting could be beneficial and approved allocating the ARPA funds.
After the vote, Belchertown still has approximately $455,880 available in ARPA funds.
Select Board member Peg Louraine said, “This is the most efficient method for us to use. This is not brand new technology and there are not a lot of mysteries to it. I think it makes perfect sense. It will make the town more efficient and more private for the people voting.”