County commissioners approve $114,000 for new voting machines

County commissioners have approved the purchase of 22 new ExpressVote machines to replace all existing voting equipment at the county’s four polling locations. The total expenditure will be just over $114,000.

County Clerk Shannon Patterson clarified that the ExpressVote devices function strictly as printers and do not store information or tally votes. They provide a paper record for every voter and generate a detailed, time-stamped audit log. To ensure security, the machines are not connected to the internet.

The new equipment features ADA accessibility, zoom functionality, and support for over 30 languages. The machines will be distributed among Iola, Humboldt, Gas, and Moran. Funding for the purchase includes $70,000 from the county’s election fund and approximately $44,000 from the Prairie Queen Wind Farm fund.