A small town in eastern Iowa is helping test a new voting system for the Secretary of State today. Residents of Dixon, in Scott County going to the polls for a special election will have the option of trying “Iowa Express Voter” Scott County Auditor, Roxanna Moritz, says the new system allows poll workers to check in voters by scanning their driver’s license or voter ID card, rather than hand-entering the information.

“Most of our poll workers are a little bit older so spelling the name correctly and/or typing it in takes time. Whereas it’s like the grocery store – – they just scan it and it populates immediately, ” Mortz says. She says the process could save a lot of time.

“You’re talking a couple of minutes per person, and in a gubernatorial or presidential election that’s huge,” Moritz says. Dixon has just 130 registered voters, and the ballot has just one question – whether the town should sell its water system to a private company.

Moritz says the next test will be school board elections in September, followed by municipal elections in the fall. And if the new system works well, it will soon be available statewide.

Secretary of State Matt Schultz says he will make the system available to county auditors to use for free.