Elections board recommends county council release grant funds for new printers, tabulators

The Erie County Elections Board voted to recommend that county council release funds from the Election Integrity Grant to purchase new printers and longer printer trays and to upgrade scanners and tabulators at polling locations.

Elections staff told the board the new printers will produce ballots from ballot-marking devices that are the same size and appearance as regular paper ballots, which staff said will make processing and tabulation more uniform. “So all the ballots would be uniform in size,” an elections staff member said, describing how the printers and longer trays will accommodate different ballot lengths.

Staff said the board is proposing an incremental upgrade: about 40 new tabulators to cover 35–40 sites initially, with additional purchases later to replace tabulators at all polling locations. The purchase request would be funded from the office’s Election Integrity Grant (EIG) line; the board’s resolution is a recommendation to county council to release and to appropriate those funds.

A board member made a motion to forward the recommendation; a roll-call vote followed. Board members called during the roll call — Schauerman, Skatella, Copeland and Drexel — were recorded as voting yes. The resolution’s approval by the board is a recommendation only; staff said that if county council does not appropriate the funds, the purchase will not proceed.

Board members also asked about timetable and scope; staff said the office intends to phase purchases to minimize disruption but did not give specific delivery dates. The motion notes the intent to begin with an initial set of tabulators and to use remaining EIG funds as appropriate to turn over equipment over time.

The board’s action sends the grant-funded purchase to the next step of county review and appropriation. No ordinance number or appropriation date was provided during the meeting.