Town Election Official Asks Select Board to Budget for Second Ballot Scanner

Brentwood—s election official told the Select Board on Sept. 2 she needs an additional ballot-scanning machine to prevent long lines during busy elections and requested the board consider allocating approximately $6,000$6,000 plus a $1,500 leftover conference credit toward the $7,500 machine. Nut graf: The official said current new voting machines process ballots more slowly than the older device; an extra scanner would reduce voter wait times during elections. Programming each additional machine costs an extra $500 per election. The election official said the replacement machines are slower and that getting an extra machine is necessary "god forbid, we had more than 4 ballots," meaning multiple simultaneous ballots at an election could create long lines. The machine itself costs about $7,500; the official expects $1,500 in conference savings that could offset a portion of the purchase and asked whether the town has $6,000 available in general funds. Board members asked staff to check the general government budget for available funds and said Stevens, the finance director, would look into the town—s ability to cover the cost by the November ordering deadline so the machine would arrive before March elections. No formal vote was taken; the board deferred action to a future meeting after finance confirms available funding. Ending: The Select Board asked the finance director to report back at the next meeting with options for covering the $6,000 shortfall so the election official can order the machine by November if funds permit.