Barton County Commissioners Monday voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of new voting equipment for the Clerk’s Office to replace aging voting machines that have been used since 2005. Barton County Clerk Donna Zimmerman says the total cost to purchase the new voting system will be $183,903 and will come from the equipment replacement fund.

Donna Zimmerman Audio

Zimmerman explained to the board that the new system will replace 89 voting machines that were purchased in 2005 for $300,000. But at that time, 90 percent of the purchase cost was covered by a grant from the Help America Vote Act, federal monies are not available this time around.

It’s an expenditure that Commissioners including Jennifer Schartz have been anticipating.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

With the new system, once polls close, results will be placed on a fire stick and brought to the courthouse. Zimmerman says they should have the final results available in the same amount of time that they have had in the past.