Secretary of State Mark Martin will provide an estimated $2.1 million worth of new voting equipment to five counties, his office announced Tuesday. The five counties are Chicot, Cleveland, Jackson, Randolph and Washington. The counties are scheduled to receive the voting equipment and have it operational for the upcoming school elections in September, the Republican secretary of state said. They will join five other counties for which the state this year purchased new election equipment, at a cost of nearly $3 million. The voting equipment will include new voting machines, tabulating machines and software. The counties will use the Express Vote Universal Voting System, which is a touch-screen machine, said Chris Powell, a spokesman for Martin.
“You will insert a blank ballot, make your selections, it will print onto your ballot and then you will insert it into the tabulator. The tabulators are the ES&S DS200. They can scan the printed machine ballots as well as standard-sized paper ballots,” Powell said.
The secretary of state’s office assists counties with conducting elections, helps counties comply with federal election laws and oversees training on voting systems, according to its website.
The new equipment for Washington County is estimated to cost $1.19 million, while Randolph County’s equipment is estimated at $318,504, Jackson County’s at $268,769, Cleveland County’s at $251,775 and Chicot County’s at $96,109, Powell said.
Full Article: In 5 counties, ballot systems set for update.