Sedgwick County election office outlines $5.5–$6.5M price tag for ballot-marking devices

Laura, the county election office presenter, told commissioners the office is planning equipment purchases for the next one to four years to support elections in Sedgwick County, which she said has about 345,000 registered voters. "Approximately 95% of our voters in Sedgwick County prefer to vote on the ballot marking devices," she said, and emphasized that every vote in the county is recorded on voter-verifiable paper ballots.

The election office compared two models: ballot-on-demand printers (which print a full-size paper ballot at check-in) and ballot-marking devices (express voting machines that produce a voter-verified paper record). Laura said ballot-on-demand would require far more printers at large polling sites, increase consumable and storage needs, and introduce more opportunities for printer failures and poll-worker error. "It takes 10 to 20 seconds to print each ballot," she said, arguing that print delays could create longer lines at check-in during high-volume elections.

On costs, Laura provided ranges rather than precise bids: she said replacing and expanding ballot-marking devices could cost between $5.5 million and $6.5 million for roughly 1,000 units, and that firmware licensing and extended warranties could add an estimated $500,000 to $1 million a year. She also said the office needs to replace aging DS200 check scanners and a central tabulator that are no longer manufactured: those replacement and supplemental purchases could amount to several million dollars in capital costs.

Commissioners pressed operational questions. One commissioner asked whether the county could implement the state’s "vote anywhere" plan; Laura said a plan must be presented to and approved by the secretary of state, and that poll printers would still be required under that model. Commissioners raised concerns about how many poll printers and poll pads would be needed, how printers are stored and serviced, and whether the county could support the logistical burden of thousands of printed ballots in early voting and on election day.

The office did not present a final procurement decision, but offered staff recommendations and cost estimates for the coming budget cycle and said it would return with a decision package for specific replacements. The discussion closed with commissioners asking staff to include these equipment needs in budget planning and to provide additional operational analysis.

The presentation and Q&A took place during the June 16, 2026 Sedgwick County staff meeting; no final vote or purchase authorization was recorded at that meeting.