County to reduce number of voting sites

(As published by Cortland Standard, Aimee Milks reporting)

The county plans to consolidate the number of polling places from 42 to 28 for the next general election in November.

Democratic Election Commissioner Bill Wood told the county Legislature’s Personnel Committee Thursday that consolidating the number of polling places will save money on the number of voting machines that must be purchased and number of polling inspectors.

Cutting costs for holding elections is critical for the county because federal mandates for new voting machines are expected to increase costs to counties, Election Commissioner Robert Howe said this morning.

Each poll eliminated saves $425 for each primary and $665 for each general election.

The cost of new paper ballots that are needed by the new machines would cost about $14,000 per election and the new federal rules require additional training of poll workers and more maintenance of machines, Howe said.

A total of 31 new machines will be purchased to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act. The machines will operate as both a ballot marking device and as a voting machine and will cost $370,000 if machines are purchased for only 28 polling places. The county will have to pay 5 percent of that cost.

The county Legislature’s Personnel Committee endorsed a resolution Thursday to match funds from HAVA to buy the machines. The full Legislature will have to vote on the funding.

Wood said after they are purchased, the machines will be sent to Albany to be tested and then shipped to Cortland.

“They are due in Albany on April 3,” Wood said. “My gut feeling is that we will get the machines in June, July latest.”

He added that a training program is being created and will be submitted to the state within the next couple of weeks.