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Senate adopts ballot security measure over cost and access objections from some members
Summary
Lawmakers approved a bill requiring secure ballot paper features after debate about per-ballot cost and accessibility risks; opponents warned of high costs and potential machine-read problems, while supporters called the technology necessary to protect ballots.
The Senate voted to advance a bill that would introduce enhanced security features for election ballots. During floor debate, senators raised concerns about cost, ballot readability and voter privacy.
Opponents cited a vendor's estimate presented during debate: Authentix (identified during floor remarks) quoted an estimated cost of $2.75 per ballot in a referenced RFP. Senator Tom (last name given in transcript as objecting) warned that at the 2024 turnout level the additional per-ballot cost could total millions: "If you estimated 3,400,000 ballots cast in '24 that amounts to over $10,000,000."
Other objections included potential incompatibility with existing county tabulation equipment because features such as holographic foil could be reflective and cause scanning problems; another raised the risk that barcodes or QR codes could create a route to compromising ballot secrecy by making ballots individually identifiable.
Senator Wendy Rogers and other supporters described the floor amendment as technical and said the change included conforming edits; Senator Mark Finchem and others argued for the security benefits. Rogers' floor amendment was adopted and the bill was reported with a "do pass" recommendation. The chamber then approved it on the floor and transmitted it to the House.
Ending: The measure passed despite repeated floor warnings about cost and operational impacts on counties. The transcript records members asking for further information; opponents urged a no vote on cost and secrecy grounds.
