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Fallon County election office weighs HAVA grant and tabulator purchase as staffing constraints loom
Summary
Elections staff described a $14,740 HAVA grant contribution toward tabulators but said full implementation would cost about $23,737 plus roughly $6,000/year maintenance; commissioners discussed volunteer judge shortages and whether to budget for machines now or wait.
Fallon County election officials updated commissioners on an offer from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to cover part of the cost of tabulator machines and described tradeoffs between continuing hand counts and buying tabulators.
An elections staff member said the HAVA contribution for two tabulators is $14,740 and that the vendor quote for two tabulators and required hardware and software totaled roughly $23,737; annual post‑warranty maintenance was estimated at about $6,000. The staff member said some of the quoted costs are reimbursable and noted the county’s procedure for hand counts was reviewed and found to meet statutory requirements with a small procedural tweak.
Commissioners and staff discussed operational impacts: tabulators would reduce the number of counters needed during an election but require two sets of trained judges and separate post‑election audit teams. Staff said recruiting judges is increasingly difficult and that tabulators would be used for state and federal elections only because programming and ballot stock costs make them impractical for small municipal contests. Questions were raised about firmware updates, certification and whether the machines connect to the internet; staff repeatedly stated the tabulators are stand‑alone and not internet‑connected during counting.
No final purchase vote took place. Staff recommended including the purchase in the next budget cycle if the commission wishes to proceed and suggested a public demonstration by the vendor to address community concerns about security and connectivity.
