Polling station manager

Municipality of Utrecht

When conducting elections, data of polling station members and volunteers is maintained in the application Polling Station Manager. Two types of algorithms are deployed, namely 1. location algorithm to show volunteers the voting locations in their own area and 2. experience algorithm that uses the experience of volunteers to suggest suitable positions and training

Last change on 1st of August 2025, at 11:59 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: Uthiek
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Organisation and business operations

Begin date

Field not filled in.

Contact information

[e-mail]

Link to publication website

https://mijnstembureau-utrecht.nl

Responsible use

Goal and impact

We would like to facilitate and support (potential) polling officials and volunteers in the electoral process as much as possible within their role in elections, to ensure that elections can be conducted properly

Considerations

Results Uthiek Assessment: thanks to the Polling Station Manager, we give polling station members and volunteers in elections more and better opportunities to contribute to the election process with the right knowledge and experience. In the process, we increase the chances of having enough members to conduct elections properly. Both points contribute to the value Autonomy. In addition, less digitally proficient residents also have the opportunity to be trained for their role in elections. This contributes to the value Justice, where we are mindful of vulnerable residents and strive for an inclusive digital solution. The Polling Station Manager has been successfully tested for privacy and security and the data of polling station members and volunteers is protected to the maximum extent possible. This contributes to the value Control Technology

Human intervention

Normally, human intervention is standard when applying an algorithm within a process with direct impact on residents' lives. In this process, we chose not to apply this by default, for every request. Because it involves a relatively simple allocation of a basic parking permit. Which involves relatively low impact on the living environment of residents. However, staff do randomly assess whether the outcome of the algorithm is correct based on the set criteria. In the event of an objection procedure, there is standard assessment by an employee only

Risk management

The Utrecht data scientists, Information and Process Advisors (IPA) and Decentralised Information Security Officers (DISO) within the Utrecht municipality have, in addition to the employees directly involved, a controlling and monitoring role in the application of the algorithm. By doing so, we want to prevent the following risks from occurring:- data leak due to the public availability of personal data of Utrecht residents- algorithm takes a decision entirely independently, without the intervention of an employee and without the interpretation of the relevant context of the situation- 'function creep' regarding data during the application of the algorithm, as a result of which the algorithm gives a distorted picture of what is going on. This can occur because the same type of data is used when applying the algorithm, and the algorithm uses that as confirmation of what comes out as information

Legal basis

Elections Act sections E4 and E8

Link to Processing Index

https://www.utrecht.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/privacy/privacyverklaring/register-verwerkingen

Impact assessment

Utrechts Uthiek Assessment

Operations

Data

- details of polling officials and volunteers, such as name, address and place of residence (NAW)

- progress data on training of polling officials and volunteers