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Clerk seeks approval to replace polling pads; county budgeted equipment funds

5055911 · June 4, 2025

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Summary

Miami County Clerk presented a quote to replace aging polling pads used at polling locations with 30 new devices; the equipment fund has money set aside for election needs. Staff recommended purchasing the devices and said trade-in offers were low; commissioners asked staff to investigate leasing and resale options.

Miami County’s County Clerk presented a proposal to replace the county’s polling-pad tablets, asking commissioners to approve purchase of 30 devices to replace the existing 25 paddles that no longer accept iOS security and software updates.

Staff said the current iPads date from about 2018 and cannot accept required software updates that will be used by the county’s election-management vendor (ePulse and supporting systems). The clerk said the county budgeted $91,000 in an equipment fund for the clerk’s office and that the polling-pad replacement was included in that allotment.

The clerk explained the quote covers new iPads and licensing for 30 polling pads to support increased polling-location needs and early voting; the incremental licensing cost from 25 to 30 was described as roughly $700 due to licensing differences. Staff said the new pads should last roughly six to eight years, absent changes in vendor software or major platform updates.

Commissioners asked about trade-in, resale and lease options. Staff said the vendor offered $5 per old pad in trade; staff is collecting additional recycling/resale quotes (some preliminary estimates ranged up to $20 per device) and recommended the county sell the retired pads through county surplus rather than accept the vendor’s trade-in. The clerk also said staff would investigate whether leasing is feasible so the county would not own outdated hardware in eight years.

No formal purchase was approved during the study session; staff said the item will be brought back to the board next week with any additional diligence requested by commissioners.