Cowley County election officials are inviting the public to preview new voting equipment that county voters will begin using later this year.
The come-and-go event is set for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 2 at the county clerk’s office in Winfield. That office is located at 321 E. 10th Ave.
Election officials want to offer an early look at new voter-verified, paper-ballot technology to the public. This is an opportunity help test the new voting machines before they are first used in the Aug. 7 primary election.
These machines were recently purchased by the county to replace electronic voting equipment in use since 2006. The new equipment, which still features touch-screen voting, will provide a verifiable paper trail of votes cast and hopefully reduce the chance for errors at the polls.
Voters will also have a paper ballot to drop into a secured bin that even tabulates results as ballots are deposited throughout the day.
“I think that’s what people missed the most,” county clerk Karen Madison, who oversees the county’s elections, said Thursday. “Being able to check their ballots and then drop them in themselves.”
A total of 26 voting machines, and 10 automated collection bins, are to be delivered soon. Madison has one machine on loan for demonstration purposes.
The equipment will replace paperless electronic voting machines purchased in 2006.
If you have any questions, contact the county clerk’s office, which is also the county election office, at 221-5400 or 441-4500.
ABOUT THE MACHINES
– Voters will now cast their ballots on the Express Vote Universal Voting System.
– Ballots are tabulated at the polling place once they are deposited in the DS200 precinct scanner and tabulator.
– Machines were purchased from Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software, or ES&S. These particular machines were chosen over two other options because their programming process was similar
to machines county election officer Karen Madison has previously programmed. Programming in house saves some money, she said.
– 26 voting machines and 10 tabulators cost the county $166,000. $100,000 of which is paid this year and $66,000 of which is paid next year.
– The machines can read ballots aloud to assist the blind and have braille encoded controllers to aid in casting votes. Screen images can also be enlarged when necessary and contrast can be altered to assist those who have issues seeing color on computer screens.
– Madison says the county will need more machines to run elections in a presidential election year. Her office will continue to emphasize advance voting as a way to avoid any possible lines or congestion at local polling places.
– More paper? The new system does bring paper back into the process, but should cut down on overall paper usage, Madison said. She said the need for additional paper and pencil ballots, which Madison is required to print each election and then destroy, should drop significantly. Paper and pencil voting will still be possible upon request.
– Along with purchase of the machines, the county has also decided to close polling place Kellogg Township Hall and Tisdale Church.
VIDEO: Karen Madison demonstrates the new voting process.
