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Commissioners give green light to advertise for new voting machines

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Washington County officials have taken a significant step toward making a multimillion-dollar purchase, that of new voting machines.

Purchasing director Randy Vankirk asked the board of commissioners Wednesday for authorization to advertise for bids or participate in a state contract that covers bulk purchases.

The commissioners unanimously approved the matter in a meeting later that day.

The elections office, in conjunction with the finance department and the commissioners, need to determine how much the county, state and federal governments will contribute to the estimated cost of $3.6 million for voting machines that will produce a paper record.

“This purchase is mandated by the (Pennsylvania) Department of State,” Vankirk explained, “requiring new voting equipment no later than Dec. 31, 2019.

“I don’t know that we know the type of machine that we’re buying yet. We’re still putting the specs together.”

Vankirk hoped to obtain the authorization in advance so when the funding is in place, the county can move forward with the purchase.

“I just want to be ready from my side,” Vankirk said.

Jan. 31 is the deadline for vendors to submit bids to the state to participate in the state’s buying-in-bulk contract. Melanie Ostrander, assistant director of elections, said the Department of State will review the bids and prepare a list of approved vendors.

The state tests and certifies voting systems, a process that it should be completing soon.

According to an email message from the Department of State, Election Systems & Software, one of the vendors Washington County is considering, has received a stamp of approval.

Washington County’s Diebold touchscreen machines are known as direct-record devices, meaning they store digital information about votes cast, but have no paper backup against which to check results.

The county used paper ballots and, later, punch cards until 2006, when it bought 750 AccuVote TSx devices for $1.8 million.

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