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Residents urge hand counts and press county on tabulator costs and security
Summary
Speakers at Meade County’s public comment period urged a return to hand counts and questioned the cost and security of vendor tabulators, presenting charts and local per‑ballot cost estimates. Commissioners acknowledged the concerns but did not change equipment policy.
Public commentators at the Meade County Commission meeting pressed elected officials to drop computer tabulators in favor of hand counting, citing cost and security concerns.
"The graph on the cost of using the tabulators shows the cost of using them is significantly higher than counting the ballots in the precinct," said Cindy Cook, who told commissioners she brought charts she said tie ES&S and other vendors to a larger market and alleged arrests of company executives elsewhere. Cook urged the board to "put aside your pride and do the right thing," and invited commissioners to a hand‑count demonstration.
Dale Booth, a Mead County resident, presented arithmetic using local turnout estimates and county vendor invoices to compare per‑ballot costs. Using 20,000 active voters and a 17% primary turnout, Booth estimated about 3,400 ballots and said the county’s tabulator expenses so far totaled roughly $38,800, or about $11.40 per ballot. He said a human‑tabulator model using five people per precinct counting three hours at $20 an hour would cost about $12,300 total, or roughly $3.60 per ballot — and could be lower with shorter counts.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions and noted past special elections affected the 2023 numbers. No commissioner proposed an immediate change to voting equipment or scheduled an equipment review during the meeting.
The public comment period closed without further action; commissioners moved on to scheduled agenda items.
