Cost for new voting equipment could be prohibitive

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County election officials across the state are receiving updated calculations for replacing their voting machines through an effort initiated about two years ago by Secretary of State Mark Martin. It’s an initiative with a price tag of over $32M. Between Secretary Martin and Governor Asa Hutchinson, $6M has been identified to fund the update. In the latest development, Governor Hutchinson has advised he wants $5M to be available on a 50-50 basis, with the counties covering half of the cost.

In part two of our series, Kelly Boyd, chief deputy for Secretary Martin, talks about the benefits to both voters and counties in upgrading to the new voting equipment and provides a breakdown of costs for counties in North Central Arkansas.

While moving to the new system is not mandated, Boyd says the original goal had been for all counties to upgrade their voting equipment by the 2018 primary election.


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Boyd says there other benefits to migrating to the new system.


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Boyd says one of the biggest problems the state is facing with the current voting equipment is that it is 10 years old. In some locations, the equipment, including the stands, is breaking down, and it is difficult to find replacements.


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In the meantime, while 12 of the state’s 75 counties have the updated equipment, the remaining counties will be vying for a portion of the available funds from the state to address their needs. Boyd says some counties are looking at local bank financing to cover their 50 percent of the equipment cost.

Late last week, Boyd was recalculating the individual county costs after renegotiating with the equipment vendor. The newly calculated cost for Baxter County’s portion for the upgraded equipment is almost $222,000.

Boyd also provided costs for other counties in North Central Arkansas that have not been revised. He says the new calculations will vary from four to five percent. Costs for both Marion and Fulton county are approximately $129,000. Izard County’s cost is $189,000; Newton’s is at $175,000; Searcy’s at $123,000; and Stone’s at $128,000. Neighboring Boone County has the updated equipment as part of a pilot initiative about two years ago.

Baxter County Election Commission Chairman Judy Garner says she is awaiting additional information from the Secretary of State’s office before the commission takes the matter under consideration.

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