Mahoning County mulls new voting machines

November 16, 2017 at 9:26a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County will consider the purchase of new voting machines for the upcoming 2018 elections.

Joyce Kale-Pesta, director of the county’s board of elections, said the state plans to cover 80 percent of costs for new voting machines in 2018.

“This is the only opportunity I think we have to move into the future,” she said.

Statewide, current machines are 12-15 years old, she said. The new machines should last until about 2030.

The topic came up at this morning’s budget hearing, and Kale-Pesta said new machines could cut costs because the ballots are cheaper and print on demand.

Board of elections officials will travel to Cleveland in December to hear presentations from voting machine vendors and explore potential options.

Kale-Pesta said she would like to have new machines in place for the May primary prior to November’s gubernatorial election.