The 2018 November general election was the last for the county’s 89 aging voting machines. Purchased in 2005 and put into use in 2006, the machines had an estimated shelf life of 10 years which has now come and gone.
In early February, Barton County Clerk Donna Zimmerman, will meet with vendors to look at both electronic and paper voting systems and determine which direction the county will move toward in the future. Due to the cost of purchasing new electronic equipment, Zimmerman is leaning at least right now to returning to paper. The 89 voting machines were purchased in 2005 for $300,000 but thanks to a federal grant, the cost to the county was just $30,000. Federal monies are not available this time around to purchase new machines, a big reason why Zimmerman is exploring the paper option.
(Read more: Great Bend Post)