Mobilized Polling Station

Abstract

A mobilized polling station is deployable for voting in remote locations. The mobilized polling station includes a mobile polling server that stores a voter registration depository identifying potential voters and a ballot repository of blank ballots for the potential voters. Various client devices, such as smart phones, tablets computers, connect to the mobile polling server for voters to enter their credentials, receive the appropriate ballots, and cast their votes. The cast votes are collected by the mobile polling server and then provided to an election center for counting. Versions of mobilized polling station can operate with limited or no power and communications infrastructure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for voting using a mobilized polling station, the method comprising:
 receiving voter credentials from a user via a client device;   authenticating the voter credentials by querying a voter registration repository, the voter registration repository storing voter authentication information for a plurality of jurisdictions;   assigning a ballot style to the user from a ballot repository taking into account the determined authentication, the ballot repository storing ballot styles for the plurality of jurisdictions;   presenting a ballot based on the assigned ballot style to the user on the client device;   collecting cast votes from the user via the client device; and   storing the cast votes in a ballot box.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter credentials are received in formats based on a relevant one of the plurality of jurisdictions. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter credentials are in a non-jurisdictional format. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter credentials are an address of the user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the voter registration repository is accessed via a telecommunications network. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ballot repository is accessed via a telecommunications network. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ballot box is replicated in a plurality of copies. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of copies is remote from the mobilized polling station. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising redirecting the client device to a landing page for voting when the client device first connects to a network of the mobilized polling station. 
     
     
         10 . A mobilized polling station, comprising:
 a mobile polling server configured to
 receive voter credentials from a user via a client device, 
 authenticate the voter credentials using a voter registration repository, the voter registration repository storing voter authentication information for a plurality of jurisdictions, 
 assign a ballot style to the user from a ballot repository, the ballot repository storing ballot styles for the plurality of jurisdictions, 
 present a ballot based on the assigned ballot style to the user on the client device, 
 collect cast votes from the user via the client device, and 
 store the cast votes in a ballot box; and 
   a networking device configured to communicate with the mobile polling server and client devices.   
     
     
         11 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , further comprising a printer, wherein the mobile polling server is further configured for printing ballots using the printer. 
     
     
         12 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , wherein the networking device is a Wi-Fi device. 
     
     
         13 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , wherein the client device is chosen from the group consisting of smart phones, tablet computers, and ebook readers. 
     
     
         14 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , wherein the client device connects to the mobilized polling station using device credentials. 
     
     
         15 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , wherein the client device, the networking device, and the mobile polling server are configured for auto-connection. 
     
     
         16 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , wherein the mobilized polling station is arranged as a kiosk. 
     
     
         17 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 10 , further comprising an interface to a telecommunications link for communications with an election center. 
     
     
         18 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 17 , wherein the mobile polling server is further configured to seamlessly operate when the telecommunications link is intermittently operable. 
     
     
         19 . A mobilized polling station, comprising:
 a voter authentication module configured to receive identification information from voters and to authenticate eligibility of the voters, wherein the voters may be from a plurality of jurisdictions;   a ballot assignment module configured to determine ballot styles to be used by the authenticated voters; and   a vote processing module configured to process votes cast by the voters using the determined ballot styles.   
     
     
         20 . The mobilized polling station of  claim 19 , wherein the voter authentication module is further configured to determine corresponding jurisdictions for the voters and authenticate eligibility in a manner taking into account the determined jurisdictions.