The Democratic primary runoff is set for Tuesday. There were some issues reported during the primary election earlier this month. Hinds County Election Commissioner Connie Cochran said the only voting machine problems were at the Wynndale precinct and that was because they weren’t programmed correctly. But Cochran’s fellow commissioner, Jermal Clark, said he thinks the machines need to be replaced.
The machines were bought in 2002. The commission has $1.3 million set aside to buy new machines or upgrade them. It would cost more than that to replace them, Cochran said. Each voting machine has its own red bar code, which is the number they were programmed at the warehouse with and then sealed. During the primary election there were complaints about wrong ballots or not enough paper ballots at several precinct sites in the city.
The primary elections are run by the Democratic and Republican parties. People who voted in one party’s primary on Aug. 2 are not allowed to cross over and vote in the other party’s primary Tuesday. Those who didn’t vote at all on Aug. 2 may cast a ballot in either runoff.
According to Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, despite a predicted low turnout on Tuesday, a new state law requires at least 75 percent of the voting machines in all of the counties to be in use on Election Day.
Full Article: Hinds Election Officials At Odds Over Replacing Voting Machines – Jackson News Story – WAPT Jackson.