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Training sessions to be held for Greene County’s new voting machines

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WAYNESBURG – Numerous demonstrations will be held over the next six weeks to help train Greene County voters on the new ballot machines that will be used in the upcoming primary.

The county elections board on Wednesday authorized elections director Tina Kiger to hold at least 10 training sessions, along with various outreach events at senior centers and civic organizations’ meetings.

The May 21 primary election will be the first time the county uses the new machines that provide a paper ballot that is electronically marked and then scanned into a separate vote counter. Pennsylvania elections officials announced last year that all voting machines in the state must utilize a voter-verifiable paper ballot or record before 2020.

The county commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 21 to spend $741,888 to purchase the new voting equipment from Election Systems and Software. The 105 ballot marker machines and 44 scanners arrived at the elections office Monday. The elections office staff trained on the product’s software last week and will continue working with the vendor to learn the nuances of the new equipment.

The elections board, which is currently made up of attorney Jeffry Grimes, District Judge David Balint and Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman, questioned whether the public would have enough time to learn how the new voting machines operate before the primary election.

“Can we get people trained, and trained sufficiently for the primary, as opposed to the general election?” Grimes asked the elections office staff during the meeting.

Kiger said the ES&S equipment is very similar to the electronic voting machines the county has used since 2006.

“It’s much easier than the previous software,” Kiger told the board.

Here’s how the new process works: A voter makes his or her choices on the ballot marking machine’s touch screen, which then produces a paper ballot with the selections. The voter then reviews the ballot to make sure it’s correct before feeding it into the precinct’s centralized scanner that records the votes. The paper ballot is saved as a receipt if there is a need for hand recounts.

Scott Kelley, the county’s budget director who also manages the voting machines, said he thinks voters will adapt well to the new process. He added that the county has been using touch-screen voting machines since 1999.

“I don’t think the learning curve is that great,” Kelley said.

Balint agreed and believes voters will respond well to the new process.

“They’re very similar to what we’ve been voting on,” Balint said.

County chief clerk Jeff Marshall, speaking as an audience member at the meeting, suggested the county could put video demonstrations of the process on various social media platforms and websites. Sarah Mahon, an ES&S representative who attended the meeting, said the company has video demonstrations that can be shared with the county. She also walked the board through the voting process at the end of the meeting.

Kiger will now begin organizing informational sessions over the next six weeks. The board asked that there be two public sessions during nonbusiness hours at locations in each of the five school districts’ jurisdictions. A voting machine will also be available to view at the elections office in the county office building at 93 E. High St. in Waynesburg.

The elections office is also looking for “rovers” to assist with any technical difficulties at precincts. Kelley said he has eight county employees ready to work Election Day, but would like at least a dozen total, so he asked for the public to help. The position pays $120 for the day, plus mileage. Anyone who is interested in working as a rover is asked to contact the elections office at 724-852-5230.

The next elections board meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 3.

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