A new bill filed in the state House of Representatives would delay some counties, including Burke, from having to buy new voting equipment. HB 373 would extend the time those counties would have to implement paper ballots. State Rep. Hugh Blackwell (R-86), who is a co-sponsor of the proposed bill, said there are 36 counties, including Burke, to which the bill would apply. Burke and the other 35 counties use direct record electronic voting machines, which create a paper receipt of a voter’s choices.
The idea of the bill is to give those counties more time to save money to purchase new equipment, Blackwell said. The bill delays the purchase of new equipment until 2020. It is up to counties to pay for voting equipment.
State officials have said direct record electronic voting equipment will need to be replaced because the machines will be decertified in January 2018. The decertification is due to a change in state law that will require a paper ballot for all certified voting systems.
Full Article: Proposed bill would delay voting machine upgrades – Morganton.com | The News Herald: News.