The Secretary of State’s office finalized its contract to replace the state’s ailing voting machines with new equipment in time for the August 2018 primaries. The Board of State Canvassers on Tuesday approved a plan the State Administrative Board previously authorized. It could grant vendors up to $82.1 million over the next 10 years to replace the state’s voting machines with new optical scanners expected to be up and running by August 2018. The new machines still use paper ballots, so not much changes for voters in the polling booth, said state Elections Director Chris Thomas. But the new technology will make things easier for election workers by setting up a statewide repository showing results all in one place. “The voters themselves are not gonna notice a whole lot,” Thomas said. “Just to have a statewide repository for all elections – it just doesn’t exist right now. It’s a big step forward. No question.”
The four-member board unanimously approved a contract with three vendors for the new machines, election-management software and long-term maintenance. Michigan is expected to cover about $40 million of the spending, while local communities will pay the difference. The amount could vary, depending on which of the vendors county clerks select.
By the time local clerks decide, the cost could end up being less than the projected $82.1 million maximum, said Secretary of State’s office spokesman Fred Woodhams.
“The new equipment offers voters all the speed and convenience of the latest ballot-scanning and election-night reporting technology while at the same time featuring a good, old-fashioned paper ballot that we can always go back and look at if we need to,” Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said in a statement previously.
Full Article: State finalizes $82M contract for new voting machines.