Governor Wolf’s mandate that all 67 Pennsylvania counties must replace their voting machines in time for next year’s elections is proving difficult for many.
At a meeting of the State House Government Committee yesterday, county and state leaders said the timeline and the cost are problematic. The Wolf administration has allocated $14.15 million in federal funding and wants the legislature to provide another $75 million over the next five years, in $15 million increments, but the counties have to pay now. The total cost to replace every voting machine in Pennsylvania will be between $125 million and $150 million, with the counties covering the deficit.
Indiana County has already replaced its machines. On Indiana In the Morning on WCCS last month, Commissioner Mike Baker said all 69 precincts in the county will have a regular machine and an ADA-compliant machine, and the county has five spares should there be a problem on election night.
Those machines will be in use for the May 21st Primary election. Baker says the county foresaw the need to replace its voting machines several years ago, even though they were working fine, so they set aside the funds that would be needed.
At the committee meeting yesterday in Harrisburg, acting Secretary of State Kathy Bockvar said only five counties have completed their certification of their new voting machines, with a sixth one pending.
