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Shawnee County election office warns of rising ballot and equipment costs, eyes $3.1 million replacement plan
Summary
Election Commissioner Andrew Howell told the county commission that security rules, separate ballots for unaffiliated voters in 2026 and state accessibility standards are driving higher operating costs and an anticipated $3.1 million equipment replacement request by the end of 2026.
Shawnee County Election Commissioner Andrew Howell said the county’s election budget will rise in 2026 because of new security requirements, a need for additional ballots in partisan primaries and impending replacement of voting equipment.
Howell said the county expects constitutional amendments next year that will require separate ballots for unaffiliated voters and that “about 100,000 of our increase is due solely to the additional cost of delivering election equipment to 87 locations.”
Those delivery and security requirements, Howell told commissioners, are driven by state-level regulations and by the evolving federal Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) overseen…
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