The S.C. State Election Commission plan to maintain its more than 12,000 voting machines would cost up to $8.8 million. Refreshing the machines would include installing new touch screens, purchasing new batteries, adding new wheels and replacing communication packs. Optical scans that read ballots would also be replaced under the plan. Spartanburg County Registration and Elections Director Henry Laye told area lawmakers on Monday that poll workers have noticed in the past few elections that people have had to punch the screens particularly hard or particularly lightly to get them to work properly.
Laye appeared before the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation seeking support for the state’s plan.
In its fiscal 2018 budget request, the Election Commission would spent $7.5 million toward the upkeep, while the state’s 46 counties would contribute an additional $1.3 million, Laye said. Spartanburg County’s contribution would be $18,000, a one-time expense.
Full Article: Voting machines need maintenance, elections chief says.