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Clerk reports election equipment obsolescence; permanent expansion of MLMP service grows demand
Summary
The county clerk described increased election workload in 2025, equipment obsolescence for ballot-processing hardware, and growth of the marriage-license and passport (MLMP) service that is covering costs via fees; the clerk asked commissioners to consider equipment-replacement and OPEX needs.
The county clerk reported Sept. 5 that election administration is facing equipment obsolescence and operational pressures ahead of coming election cycles, and described growth in the marriage-license and passport (MLMP) unit that is largely financed by fees.
Clerk staff said ES&S (election equipment vendor) announced it will stop servicing existing scanners and equipment in three to five years, which will require replacement of ballot-scanning and polling-place hardware. The clerk said the state has not yet committed to covering replacement costs and that preliminary estimates for replacement scanners and ballot-processing equipment could approach several hundred thousand dollars (the clerk cited a figure in the low hundreds of thousands as a potential replacement cost for some equipment categories).
The clerk also said a change in state law (HB 300) changed the way drivers'license or last-four verification is processed for ballot envelopes and had operational impacts in the most recent election; staff asked county leaders to consider legislative clarification in the next session.
On the other front, the clerk said the county's marriage-license and passport/MLMP service has grown quickly. The clerk said revenue from MLMP services is covering costs for expansion and that the unit is projected to collect more than $3.7 million for the year (the clerk said MLMP revenues were on pace to exceed a $3 million projection). The clerk requested modest operational items for FY26 including upgraded maintenance plans for election equipment and additional temporary staffing as ballot processing volumes rise.
Clerk staff proposed replacing aging envelope-opening equipment (OPEX machines) ahead of future election cycles and upgrading maintenance contracts for ES&S hardware. Commissioners asked operational and timeline questions; no formal vote was recorded. The clerk said staff would return during the budget process with specific cost figures and procurement options.
