New polling equipment topped the Clearfield County Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
The new equipment is actually in the form of poll books, or Microsoft Surface tablets which will contain all the names of registered voters and reduce much of the paper used during each election.
Commissioner Dave Glass explained how they will be used.
He explained that every election books of voter names are printed, and when a voter comes in to their polling place to vote, their name is found and then they sign underneath.
Later the election officials have to run a scanner and scan every bar code associated with each person who signed the book, which can take several days.
Additionally, if someone goes to the wrong polling place, the poll workers are not able to tell them where they should go and have to call the main election office, which takes time.
With the electronic poll books, voters can sign the tablet, and when the day is done, the tablets are returned and the memory sticks removed and the information entered quickly into the system.
And if someone goes to the wrong polling place, their information is accessible and the workers can tell them where they need to be.
The cost of the tablets with thermal printers, which would print a receipt for each voter, is $166,267, but Glass said they can save considerable money by not getting the printers. The money will come from the state through the Act 88 Election Integrity funding.
Clearfield County gets around $250,000 each fiscal year, July 1 through June 30 for the state, to use for election costs, and Glass suggested they pay for half with the current round of funding, and the other half with the funding that comes with the next round.
The new equipment will arrive after the May 20 election, so there will be time to train poll workers and they’ll be used at the November election.
The commissioners then talked about the importance of this year’s election.
Even though it is an “off year” there are many very important local elections, including borough council members, township supervisors, tax collectors, school board officials, and the county-wide election for President Judge.
Also, DuBois is going through a consolidation.
Commissioner Tim Winters noted, “Local elections can be decided by one or two votes.”
Commissioner John Sobel agreed, noting that the President Judge position is a ten-year tenure and Judge Frederic Ammerman has held the position for many years. He said it is a position that touches many lives across the county.
At the end of the meeting, Winters gave a personal statement. “I want to say thank you to everyone who expressed condolences on the passing of my wife,” he said.
