BELLEFONTE — In the Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting on Jan. 23, several items were approved regarding the upcoming elections. The focus of the discussion was on upgrading and acquiring election equipment to ensure a smooth and efficient process.
Elections and Voter Registration Director Beth Lechman, presented four key items for consideration, all of which were unanimously approved.
1. Purchase of Franklin Voting Booths
The first item under consideration was the approval of the purchase of 10 four-station Franklin voting booths from Election IQ. These booths, priced at $9,690 total, are designed to comply with ADA requirements.
2. Acquisition of ExpressVote ADA Compliant Voting Machines
The second item involved the approval of purchasing 10 ExpressVote ADA-compliant voting machines, along with a DS950 high-speed scanner and tabulator. The total cost, including firmware, software upgrades and an annual post-warranty license and maintenance agreement, amounted to $203,030.
3. Upgrade of PYO Network Server and EMS Software
The third item for approval was the upgrade of the PYO Network Server and EMS Software from Election Systems & Software LLC, with a total cost of $7,567.
4. Purchase and Installation of CFAST Cards
The final item on the agenda was the approval of the purchase and installation of 4 GB CFAST Cards in 120 DS200s and two DS-450s from Election Systems & Software LLC, costing $12,410.
Commissioner Chair Mark Higgins expressed his satisfaction with the items, “The purchase of especially the high-speed scanner will allow us to hopefully report results more quickly and also, should we need to do a recount, you can’t recount ballots on the same machines that counted them in the first place. And this gives us a lot more flexibility,” he said.
Commissioner Vice Chair Amber Concepcion emphasized the significance of these purchases, stating, “It seems like these are important purchases to get us prepared for what could be a record-setting election year in terms of turnout, number of voters participating.”
In addition to the election equipment approvals, Lechman presented two sponsorship requests for CNET (Centre County Government Access Television Network). The first sponsorship is for the taping and live streaming of the 2024 general primary vote by mail processing room, while the second is for a video covering voting by provisional ballot.
“I don’t think it can be overstated that we need to educate folks, particularly with the provisional ballot system. That they need to be registered at the right place … making sure that they’re at the right place at the right time so their votes are counted appropriately,” Commissioner Steve Dershem expressed regarding creating a video covering voting by provisional ballot.
Both requests were approved to further enhance public information surrounding the election process.
