The Craighead County Election Commission is recommending the Quorum Court follow a state plan for the purchase of brand new electronic voting machines. The machines would replace ones the county has been using for the past 12 years. Under the plan, the state would pay half of the cost for new machines and counties would pick up the remaining half. If the plan is approved by the Quorum Court, the county would pay almost 355-thousand dollars as the county match. That would cover over 120 machines, as well as associated equipment and software. Jennifer Clack is the Craighead County Election Commissioner. She says if the quorum court approves the purchase soon, they could have new machines available by next fall. She says the new machines will make the process a lot faster.
The Quorum Court's Finance Committee is expected to hear complete details of the plan June 12th. Such a purchase would have to be required by the full Quorum Court. Any additional needed equipment would come out of the County Election Commission's 2017 budget.
