Town adopts YubiKey two‑factor login for election management system at presiding officer stations

City election staff demonstrated a change to the Vermont election management system that introduces hardware two‑factor authentication (YubiKey) for presiding officers. The clerk said YubiKey devices will be stored in labeled gray binders for each presiding officer and provide a second factor without requiring a phone text or call.

“There's gonna be a little pencil case that is in the 3 ring binder that'll be labeled YubiKey,” the clerk said, describing the authentication flow: presiding officers log in with username and password, select YubiKey for multi‑factor authentication, and touch the YubiKey to generate a one‑time code. The clerk said the laptops used at polling places will be read‑only inquiries to prevent accidental changes to voter records.

Why it matters: using hardware second factors reduces reliance on phone‑based verification on election day and helps ensure access controls for officials who need to look up voter information. The clerk walked members through the process and advised presiding officers to retrieve the device in the morning and secure it at day’s end.