Stark County approves purchase of electronic pollbooks; state to reimburse $197,740

The Stark County Board of Commissioners on April 29 approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ohio Secretary of State, the Stark County Board of Elections and the county commissioners to purchase electronic pollbooks, with the capital cost recorded as $197,740 and noted as reimbursable by the State of Ohio.

Kris Miller in Finance presented the appropriation for the electronic pollbook capital purchase and the MOU during the resolutions section of the meeting. The board recorded a motion to approve the MOU and associated appropriation; Commissioner Alan Harold moved and Commissioner Bill Smith seconded. The motion passed with Commissioners Smith and Harold voting in favor and Commissioner Regula absent.

Officials did not provide additional details about the vendor, implementation timeline, training, or the specific model of pollbook approved in the minutes. The appropriation was included among other 2026 budget adjustments presented by the finance office.

The action authorizes the county to participate in the purchase arrangement described in the MOU and confirms that the county’s outlay is expected to be reimbursed by the State of Ohio. The minutes record that the President of the Board is authorized to sign related documents where required. No public comment or debate on the item is recorded in the minutes; the next steps for procurement and deployment were not specified.