Leflore County’s new voting machines are ready for the November elections, says Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill.
The new machines were purchased this year. After years of using touch-screen kiosks, Leflore County voters will now provide their ballots to an optical scanner that will offer the speed of electronic voting and the security of paper ballots.
“We want to make sure every citizen here in Leflore County feels comfortable using these machines,” Stockstill said, adding that the voting process will be “much easier” than in prior years.
The Mississippi Legislature passed legislation this year that mandated a statewide shift by 2024 from purely electronic voting machines to ones that provide paper backups.
The Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of the machines at a total cost of $189,970, though Leflore County paid only about $15,000 because grants covered the rest.
Stockstill said the 26 machines were purchased from ES&S, a company that sells election systems and software. The old machines were traded in.
He said there will be one machine for each of Leflore County’s 18 precincts, with an additional machine provided for the larger precincts if needed.
The leftover machines will be used as backups. “Express machines” will also be provided for curbside voters.
Stockstill explained how the process will work on Election Day, starting with this year’s general election in November.
At each precinct at 7 a.m., a machine will be placed on top of a collapsible bin and turned on, where it will produce a “zero report.”
“Zero reports basically tell you that nobody has voted on this machine before 7 a.m,” Stockstill said. “If you don’t see a zero report, there’s a major law that’s been broken. Every precinct will have (the report) taped on the wall showing that each machine that we have, no one has voted on it.”
A memory stick, which has the specific election data loaded onto it, will be plugged into the machine. The memory stick will record the results of each ballot being scanned electronically.
Voters will be given scanable ballots, fill them out and slide them into the scanner. The scanner can inform the voters if they forgot to fill out a selection and can spit the ballot back out if a voter wishes to more fully complete it.
Accepted ballots will be deposited from the scanner into a box inside the collapsible bin. These ballots will provide a paper trail to track votes in the event of a disputed election.
In the event of a power failure or a malfunctioning machine, the collapsible bins have a window where voters can still deposit their ballots. These ballots can be scanned by the machine if repairs are made or brought back to the courthouse to be scanned.
Once the precinct closes, the box containing the ballots and the memory stick will be returned to the courthouse by the poll manager for tabulation.
Stockstill said demonstrations are being planned for the community. Simulation elections for favorite Mississippi artists and athletes will be used to get people more comfortable with using the machines.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
