Washington County approves $60,000 to start buying new ballot-counting machines after duplicate-reporting error

The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Nov. 30 to approve a $60,000 budget amendment to begin purchasing new ballot-counting machines after a State Board of Elections statement said the countyinadvertently duplicated absentee-by-mail data in the election-night reporting system.

Chair Phelps read a portion of the State Board of Elections release saying, "Washington County inadvertently duplicated its absentee by mail data in the election night reporting system, resulting in two records for every by-mail vote in the unofficial results reported on election night. This error was detected through required audits during the canvass process." The release added that the error was possible because the county uses an older model of tabulation equipment.

County Manager and County Attorney Curtis Potter told the board the county had received a quote from its current vendor for newer machines and that the proposed budget amendment would increase election equipment funding by $60,000, to a total allocation of $467,839, with the additional money coming from the countyfund balance. Potter said there may also be competitive grants available to help pay for the equipment.

Commissioner Sexton questioned whether the duplication was caused by human error rather than the machines and asked why the Elections Director was not being overseen when ballots were fed into the tabulator for the Supreme Court Chief Justice race; Chair Phelps and Commissioner Johnson said the duplication affected every race. Potter said one particular machine doubled absentee ballots on a particular day.

Commissioner Riddick, who participated by phone, urged the county to modernize its equipment, saying, "Washington County is still in the Ice Age." Riddick moved to approve the budget amendment; Commissioner Johnson seconded. The clerk called the roll: Walker, yes; Sexton, no; Johnson, yes; Phelps, yes; Riddick, yes. The motion carried 4-1.

The countywill not finalize any purchase until the Washington County Board of Elections meets; Potter said the Board of Elections is scheduled to meet in January 2021 and that, if the elections board endorses the quoted machines, the county could proceed to order them. Potter also said he would research all potential funding sources as the county's budget officer.

With no further business, the board adjourned following a unanimous procedural vote.

The Board of Elections canvass and any amended canvass results referenced in the State Board of Elections statement will be the authoritative record of the election results and any updates to the Election Results Dashboard, as noted in the release read at the meeting.