Benton County election officials seek new vote machines

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County election officials said Friday they'll ask the county to set aside money for new voting equipment in 2017, but how much money is uncertain.

The Election Commission discussed its 2017 budget requests at a special meeting Friday, held just before the commission did the ballot draw for the Nov. 8 general election. The budget will be reviewed and eventually approved by the Quorum Court.

Ballot positions

Benton County voters will have to search for their preferred presidential candidates from among eight tickets listed on the ballot. The Green Party ticket of Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka will be first on the ballot and Evan McMullin and Scott N. Bradley, representing the Better For America campaign, will be eighth. The Democratic Party ticket of Hilary Clinton and Tim Kaine will be listed fourth while the Republican Party ticket of Donald Trump and Michael R. Pence will be seventh.

Source: Benton County

Benton County is anticipating the Secretary of State's Office approval of new voting machines for all of Arkansas' 75 counties. A handful of counties have used the new machines in a "pilot program" including Washington County. Benton County will need about 450 of the voting machine and 55 vote-counting machines, according to Kim Dennison, the election coordinator.

It's undetermined how many of the new machines the state will provide. Benton County bought some voting machines with its own money when the current system was adopted more than a decade ago and has since obtained more from the counties involved in the pilot program for the replacement system.

The 450 new voting machines and 55 vote-counting machines will allow the county to continue to operate the vote centers and early voting sites it now uses, Dennison said.

Dennison said the state has said Benton County will be allotted a specific amount of money and be allowed to spend that as it chooses on voting equipment. She told the commissioners the county might be able to purchase more voting machines and vote-counting machines with the state money if the county buys some other equipment, such as printers and stands for the voting machines, with its own money.

Dennison said the voting machines and vote-counting machines require annual maintenance and service agreements, which the state will pay for on the machines bought with state money. The additional equipment being considered for purchase with county money don't require annual maintenance agreements, she said, which reduces the cost to the county in future years.

"It's an option, if you're talking money," Russ Anzalone, commission chairman, said during the discussion. "Can we use that money and turn it into more voting machines?"

The drawing for ballot positions on the Nov. 8 general election ballot was attended by four candidates. One of the candidates, Stephanie Orman, running for reelection to the Ward 1, Position 1 seat on the Bentonville City Council, brought her husband, Terry, and their two children -- 9-year old Taylor and 6-year-old Landry -- who took part in the event by drawing numbers for candidates who weren't represented. Orman said she always attends the ballot draws. She drew for herself and will be listed second on the ballot after Kristen Dunavant.

"I just feel like it's important," she said of attending the ballot drawing. "It's part of the process and I think you should participate."

Randall Noblett, a candidate for the Ward 3, Position 2 seat on the Cave Springs City Council, drew the first spot on the ballot, ahead of Jay Finch. Noblett said he doesn't think the position makes any real difference.

"I think it's the first time I've drawn a 1," Noblett said. "I've won four times and I've lost the last time from other positions. It's part of the process and I just like to follow through with it."

NW News on 08/27/2016

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