The Merrimack Town Council on April 7 authorized use of Dominion ImageCast Precinct 2 electronic ballot-counting devices for all town elections conducted on or after April 7, 2025, voting 4-0-0 at a short special meeting called the night before the April 8 town election.

Town Clerk and Tax Collector Brenda DeLong told the council the machines had been delivered March 19, were certified by the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office in March, and had been tested with sample ballots. “We hereby authorize the use of Dominion ImageCast Precinct 2 electronic ballot counting devices ... for all the elections in Merrimack conducted on or after 04/07/2025,” DeLong said as she described the required council authorization under state law.

The authorization followed a state offer of a $3,500-per-machine credit toward new units. DeLong said Merrimack previously owned nine AccuVote machines; the vendor that had been servicing those machines, LHS Associates, told the town the AccuVotes were effectively obsolete and could not be serviced long term. New machines were priced at about $7,000 each, she said, and the town issued a purchase order in August 2024 for the ImageCast units. DeLong said the machines were tested last week with mock ballots so staff could confirm operation and vote calculations before using them in the town election.

DeLong told the council the town had signed only a six-month service contract for the older AccuVotes after the vendor warned longer contracts might not be available. She and Moderator Brian McCarthy reviewed options with vendor demonstrations in other towns and recommended keeping LHS Associates as the service provider because of the company’s existing relationship with Merrimack.

Councilors moved and seconded the statutory authorization pursuant to RSA 656:40, the state statute governing the use of electronic ballot-counting devices; the motion was approved by voice vote with a 4-0-0 tally. DeLong told the council the special meeting was necessary because, without council authorization, ballots for the April 8 election would have been hand-counted.

Three council members—Nancy Murphy, Mackenzie Murphy and Andy Hunter—were excused from the April 7 meeting and were recorded as absent for the vote. Town officials said the ImageCast machines will be used at the town election on April 8.

The meeting concluded after brief remarks thanking election staff for their work and a motion to adjourn.