Election board approved to buy new voting panels

The Pulaski County Election Board came before the Pulaski County Commissioners on Sept. 8 to ask permission to purchase 40 new voting panels. This item was discussed by the election board at their meeting prior to the commissioners meeting that day. Election Board Secretary and County Clerk JoLynn Behny explained that during their budget hearing with the county council they had discussed the fact that there will be no elections in 2027 and that, by default, this will save the county about $75,000. It was also acknowledged that by the 2028 presidential election, the voting panels are going to be 30 years old. Behny received an estimate from MicroVote to replace the panels in the amount of $115,221. She explained that when they had went before the council during the budget hearings, they had asked if they could rotate machines out. Behny said that this would not be a good idea, because then some polling locations would get brand new machines and others would get the old ones. Behny said that she spoke with MicroVote vendor Steve Shamo and he is willing to spread out the $115,000 payment over the next three budget cycles. Keeping that in mind, Behny said that the election board is asking the commissioners for permission to purchase the 40 new panels.