Allen County may get a good deal on things to expedite voting.
Commissioners authorized County Clerk Sherrie Riebel to apply for federal grant money, made available through the federal Help Americans Vote Act and administered by the Kansas secretary of state’s office.
Riebel’s wish list is for ballot-on-demand software and printer, 10 four-station voting booths, a flatbed scanner and 10 electronic poll books. Total cost is $33,035. If its application is approved, the county will pay 10 percent of the total, $3,303.
The equipment would further streamline the voting process each election and improve efficiency in preparation and vote tabulation, Riebel said.
The ballot-on-demand components would permit Riebel to print additional ballots at a moment’s notice if a shortage or spoilage threatened the supply at any polling place. She won’t print all ballots for an election, Riebel said, because that likely would be more expensive than having them printed by a private company, but if one or two or 25 were needed on Election Day, she could dash them out.
The election booths are the same as the free-standing one used in recent elections.
“We wouldn’t need 10 more at smaller elections,” Riebel said. She reasoned purchasing 10 for the price of one, through grant funding, made sense and would be an advantage at major elections.
The flatbed scanner would be used for election activities and also other chores in Riebel’s office.
The election poll books essentially are laptop computers used to log in voters on Election Day.
County seeks grant for election updates
