Secretary of State outlines phased $100M plan for new voting machines, asks for climate‑controlled storage and cybersecurity funds

Secretary of State Landry told the Senate Finance Committee that Louisiana’s current voting system has reached the end of its life cycle and must be replaced to provide voter‑verifiable paper ballots and permit risk‑limiting audits.

Landry testified that the department is finishing a multiyear pre‑procurement and that six vendors have been certified and publicly demonstrated systems. “My goal is to have a vendor selected by the end of the year so implementation can begin as soon as possible,” she said. Landry said new equipment would combine a touchscreen interface with an immediately verifiable paper ballot that a voter can inspect before it is scanned and counted.

Committee members pressed for details on cost and timing. Landry and staff said the department estimates a roughly $100 million program to replace equipment statewide and indicated the Voter Technology Fund currently holds about $75 million. Landry described a phased implementation — “we anticipate, at the longest, a three‑year implementation where we start with some parishes and then expand” — and said the department expects to use a mix of the statutory fund, annual legislative appropriations and federal HAVA support to complete the rollout.

Lawmakers also asked about storage and retention for paper ballots and equipment. Melissa Thibodeaux, the department’s director of accounting, said the committee’s $4.67 million request is an annual increase to the department’s base to secure climate‑controlled warehouses statewide and that leases are typically five years. Landry added that federal election paper ballots must be retained for 22 months (other elections six months), which informed the storage needs.

Committee members raised cybersecurity and everyday IT upkeep. Budget slides and testimony list discrete requests for IT equipment replacement (examples presented include $130,000 for Wi‑Fi upgrades, about $382,500 for end‑of‑life IT replacements, and roughly $137,003 for antivirus and detection tools). Landry said maintaining up‑to‑date IT and physical climate control are recurring needs and that many warehouse leases will need conversion to climate control.

Landry and Senate fiscal staff also described voter‑roll maintenance under a recently enacted expanded canvas. The department said it mailed address confirmation cards to voters who had not voted in ten or more years; as a result, records in several parishes moved to an inactive list after nonresponse. Landry said Lafayette Parish’s initial run showed 23,053 such records and stressed that inactive registrants remain eligible to vote for two federal election cycles and can re‑register if needed.

The committee did not take a vote. Landry said she and staff would be available to provide additional budget detail and a phased funding plan as the procurement moves into negotiation.