Crittenden County’s new election equipment has arrived.
Harp Enterprises, the Lexington firm contracted with the county to provide election services, delivered 12 ballot scanners and eight ballot-marking devices Thursday. The cost for the machines, as well as a workstation for election night reporting, was around $122,000.
Earlier this year, Crittenden Fiscal Court budgeted for the purchase of new machinery to replace aging and outdated voting equipment that is around 15 years old. In September, magistrates approved moving ahead with the purchase based on an election plan that reduces the number of Election Day precincts by seven.
“The members of county board of elections and county clerk’s office are not the only Crittenden Countians to appreciate the fiscal court’s willingness to provide the most secure and reliable election equipment for voting,” said County Clerk Daryl Tabor. “The voters and taxpayers of the county will undoubtedly appreciate the great benefits with state-of-the-art machines and a reduction in necessary equipment.”
A consolidation of voting locations allowed the county to purchase far fewer pieces than the previous 16 ballot scanners and additional 16 digital voting machines that accommodate voter impairments. It will also reduce the number of poll workers needed to staff elections, saving the county more money and making finding an adequate number of poll workers much easier.
If the board of elections’ new plan is approved at the state level, there will be five voting locations in the May 2022 primary, the first election utilizing the new equipment. Voters will be able to cast a ballot in Sheridan, Shady Grove, Mattoon and Frances, as well as in Marion. Voters will continue to be divided into 12 geographic precincts that determine representation in local government; there will simply be fewer Election Day polls to staff and equip.
The new scanning equipment will work much like what has been used in elections – voters will mark paper ballots and feed them into a machine that tallies votes. However, these scanners will be programmable to compile votes from multiple precincts and keep the totals separate. Until this new generation of equipment, each precinct required its own voting machines.
Meantime, the ballot marking devices are aimed for people with impairments, though anyone may use them. They incorporate a number of features to assist with voting on a touch screen. After the votes are made digitally, a paper ballot will be printed that is then run through the scanning device. Voters will be able to confirm their votes visually before sliding the ballot into the scanner.
The new machines are in compliance with a mandate for new equipment that provides a paper trail for every single vote cast.
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