Polling places versus Voting centers?

[JayJohnsonWashoeCounty]

In the Elections Solution, what is the difference between Polling Places and Voting Centers?

Is there a tutorial or deeper instruction available for the Elections Solution?  

Some of the attribute mapping from my local data to the the ESRI schema isn't clear, for example.

Thanks,

Jay

[PennyHornsby2 · Accepted solution]

Hi Jay. I had this question as well.Voting centers are an alternative to traditional, neighborhood based precincts. When a jurisdiction opts to use vote centers, voters can cast their ballots on Election date at ANY vote center in the jurisdiction regardless of address. 

• Sixteen states allow jurisdictions to use vote centers on Election Day: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa (for some elections), Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
• Additional states may permit the use of vote centers during the early voting period

The polling place ID field in the Voting Precincts field would not be utilized for jurisdictions that have opted into vote centers. 

Hope this helps!

[JayJohnsonWashoeCounty]

Our county has indeed moved to a "vote anywhere" system, so this info is useful.  Thanks!