Putnam Co. Considering New Voting Machines

The Putnam County Election Commission is considering the use of new voting machines.

Election Commission Administrator Debbie Steidl said the board of elections discussed the meetings at its Tuesday meeting.

“We’re going to look at our new machine from MicroVote,” Steidl said. “It’s basically the same machine we have right now except it’s going to add a VVPAT. That allows you to see how you voted.  A piece of paper comes up and you see it through a screen. It tells you how you voted, so you can feel more secure about your vote.”

Steidl said the newer machines have a battery backup which will help in case of a power outage at a polling place.

“Right now we have to put batteries in the machines,” Steidl said. “This has a battery back up built in that will last longer, it’s much larger, and if anything happened to the electricity it would kick on.”

The board also considered its 2020 budget. The budget will be submitted to Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter on April 7.