Latest news with #ExpressVote
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pitt County Board of Election to introduce new voting system to cut costs, boost access
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The Pitt County Board of Elections is set to upgrade how the county votes with a new voting machine. The Express Vote universal voting system improves the software for all ballot types, including hearing and visually impaired ballots. The new voting machine will help save some money, with cheaper cardstock being used. Express Vote won't change how people cast their ballot. The county approved an order of 50 machines for the 40 precincts. The total cost of the new machines is $195,000. Express Vote machine will go through a simulation test and will need the state approval before being officially implemented. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to know about Milwaukee's Election Day ballot shortages and changes coming in response
Ballot shortages during the April 1 election in Milwaukee were the subject of a shouting match at the Wisconsin Elections Commission April 17, bringing renewed attention to the issue that forced some city residents to wait hours to vote. The evening of the April 1 election, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez reported ballot shortages and cited "unprecedented high turnout" in the election in which the high-stakes state Supreme Court race was on the ballot. "Our analysis revealed we had the resources to support our polling locations. … What we couldn't do is get those resources to our locations in time so voters wouldn't be impacted," she told the Journal Sentinel. Here's what to know about what happened and changes Gutiérrez said would be made to ensure it doesn't happen again. Nine polling sites temporarily ran out of ballots on Election Day and approximately 60 others experienced issues like ballot shortages, according to Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez cited a number of factors that contributed to the ballot shortages: High turnout, despite the city having ordered additional ballots and paper on which the Election Commission started printing more ballots for its polling sites ahead of Election Day. A high volume of incoming calls to hotlines used by election officials that made it hard to place outgoing calls to couriers whose role was to take the ballots to polling locations. The distance couriers had to travel from the Election Commission's operations center in Bay View during rush hour, when the shortages arose. (The nine sites that ran out of ballots were on the city's northwest side, far from the operations center, she said.) The printers generating the ballots also slowed as they heated up during the printing, compounding the delays. Milwaukee had 49% turnout for this year's spring election, which Gutiérrez called "insane" compared to past voting trends for an April election. She said historical turnout data no longer predicts how many people will cast ballots. Case in point: Turnout in another bitter and hard-fought state Supreme Court election two years ago attracted 39% turnout among Milwaukee residents. In future spring elections, Gutiérrez said she planned to make a series of changes: Ordering one ballot for each registered voter, a percentage of which will be absentee ballots. Expanding Election Day use of ExpressVote machines that are used at early voting and for ADA accessibility on Election Day. The ExpressVote machines allow voters to make their selections on a screen and print a ballot that can then be fed into the machine that tallies the votes. Creating an advisory council made up of election workers in charge of polling places, known as chief inspectors. Yes. The Election Commission will also be holding community listening sessions this summer, with dates yet to be determined. Those meetings will follow similar efforts to get feedback from chief inspectors in early May. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Milwaukee's April 1 election ballot shortages
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Berks officials discuss Trump's executive order on elections
In March President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks to overhaul how states handle elections, and Berks County officials are looking into what its local impact may be. At a meeting of the board of elections Thursday, First Assistant County Solicitor Cody Kauffman said the order outlines several directives and that a few of them would directly impact the way Berks runs elections. Those include a new voter registration requirement, the decertification of certain voting systems and stricter ballot deadlines. Kauffman said the order is already facing court challenges, which means it's unclear if and when it would impact local elections. The new voter registration rules included in the order requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register. Acceptable documents for proving citizenship under the order include a passport, a military card indicating citizenship or any valid federal- or state-issued photo ID confirming citizenship. When it comes to voting systems, the order states the systems should not use a ballot in which a vote is contained in a barcode or a QR code — except where necessary to accommodate individuals with disabilities. It instructs the federal Election Assistance Commission, an independent group whose mission is to help election officials improve the administration of elections, to rescind all previous certifications of voting equipment that does not adhere to this directive. Berks would be impacted by that decision. Its voting system, ExpressVote, allows voters to use touchscreens to make selections. The machines then print paper ballots that include a barcode and plain text, giving voters a chance to look at the receipt to ensure their vote was recorded correctly. The barcode is read by a scanner, casting the vote. The order also addresses deadlines, saying states cannot count ballots received after Election Day. Pennsylvania law already does not allow mail ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. It does, however, provide a grace period for overseas and military ballots. Those must be postmarked by 11:59 p.m. the day before the election at the latest and be received no later than 5 p.m. the seventh day after the election. Kauffman said the executive order does not specifically address military and overseas ballots, so how it will impact those is unclear. Kauffman noted that Trump's order was met with legal challenges from parties arguing that the U.S. Constitution empowers states to dictate how elections are run, which likely means the order will be tied up in the courts for the foreseeable future. 'I don't believe there is going to be any immediate impact to our current operations,' he told the board. Kauffman added that executive orders do not establish new law, but they do instruct federal agencies to take specific actions or implement policies. So until those agencies issue new directives the county cannot determine how to implement the order. Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. offered his own criticism of the order, saying it's a solution in search of a problem that doesn't exist. 'This all goes back to the nonsense that the 2020 election was rigged,' said Santoni, the lone Democrat among the commissioners. 'I also find it sort of laughable, quite frankly, that the federal government is going to come in and tell us how to run our elections — which we are doing a fine job of by the way. 'When Roe v. Wade was overturned, the administration said let the states handle it. When he wants to close the Department of Education at the federal level, he says let the states handle it. But when it comes to elections — where states and local governments are doing a helluva good job — then the president wants to recommend and take over.' Santoni said he hopes the order goes through the legal process and is tossed out. 'But let's see how this all plays out,' he said. The other commissioners, Christian Leinbach and Michael Rivera, agreed the situation is something to monitor, but likely will not require any immediate reaction by the county. Also at Thursday's meeting, the board discussed the latest ruling in the long-running legal dispute over whether to count undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots. On March 31, a federal judge ruled that election boards in Pennsylvania may not invalidate mail ballots simply because they lack accurate, handwritten dates on their exterior return envelopes. Berks, along with the Republican National Committee, submitted arguments in the case stating that the dates help combat voting fraud. In the decision, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter noted there was no evidence entered into the record demonstrating how this requirement furthers that purported interest. The exterior envelope dating mandate violates the U.S. Constitution, she ruled, by impairing the right to vote under the First and 14th amendments. Kauffman said the Republican National Committee filed an appeal Wednesday. The latest ruling is in line with previous decisions from lower courts deeming it unconstitutional to toss these ballots. But higher courts — including the state Supreme Court — have blocked those decisions from taking effect.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ballot shortages reported in Milwaukee during 'historic turnout in the spring election'
Milwaukee election officials are reporting ballot shortages at voting sites due to what they say is 'unprecedented high turnout' in Tuesday's spring election. Seven polling sites were totally out of ballots and election officials were working to replenish the supply. They are also checking with other sites that are low on ballots. Anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be able to vote, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said Tuesday evening. Officials said no voters would be turned away due to the shortages, and voters can call 414-286-VOTE with any concerns or questions. Election officials have increased field staff and sent ExpressVote machines that are used at early voting to those locations, along with additional ballots, she said. The ExpressVote machines allow voters to make their selections on a screen and print a ballot that can then be fed into the machine that tallies the votes. "The fact that this is historic turnout in the spring election, which has never occurred here in the city, feels great," she said. "We apologize for the delays that are happening. We ask you to remain patient. Please stay in line." Any voters who are told they cannot vote should alert election officials immediately, she said, adding that "absolutely should not happen." Gutiérrez said the Election Commission put in two additional orders of ballots about a week ago after seeing how busy early voting was. But the turnout on Tuesday meant the sites went through those additional ballots, forcing the Election Commission to print additional ballots. The printing can be a slow process, she said. On the ballot is the nationally watched state Supreme Court race in addition to the race for state superintendent. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ballot shortages reported at some City of Milwaukee polling sites
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Village of Kronenwetter voting hours extended to 9 p.m. due to 'technical issues'
KRONENWETTER − Voters in the village of Kronenwetter will have one extra hour to vote Tuesday after a court-ordered extension following delays due to technical issues earlier in the day. Marathon County Clerk Kim Trueblood and Kronenwetter Village Clerk Jennifer Poyer filed a petition for an extension earlier in the day, 'after technology issues caused significant delays at the Kronenwetter Municipal Center,' according to a release from the Marathon County Clerk's Office. Polling site officials switched to paper poll books around 10 a.m., but some voters left due to long lines, according to the release. 'We understand the frustration this caused for voters,' Trueblood said. 'Extending polling hours in the Village of Kronenwetter by one hour ensures that every eligible Kronenwetter resident has the opportunity to cast their ballot.' All other polling sites in Marathon County will close at 8 p.m., according to the release. Trueblood and Poyer will work with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to determine the cause of the issue, according to the release. All 11 of Kronenwetter's wards vote at the same location. The village was using Badger Books to check voters in to the polling location. The village's Express Vote electronic voting machines are optional to use, according to the village website. Election Day is Tuesday. Here's what Wausau-area voters need to know. Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@ This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Kronenwetter voting hours extended to 9 p.m. due to 'technical issues'
