Election Expenses May Double In 2006
Commission prepares for new maintenance, ballot expenses
By Joseph Askins
The Morning News    26 August 2005

BENTONVILLE Benton County's election officials have begun preparing for the financial burden of running a federally mandated electronic voting system that doesn't even exist yet.

The Benton County Election Commission on Thursday forwarded a total 2006 budget request of $572,306 to the county's Finance Committee, which will begin reviewing budget proposals in October.

The commission's request is for more than twice the amount it received this year, and much of that money will go toward storing and maintaining electronic voting machines.

Election Commissioner Jim McCarthy said the commission typically receives more money in even years to cover the cost of primaries and general elections. However, the county must also have funds set aside to manage an electronic voting system that will replace the county's current punch card method.

  
For example, the federal Help America Vote Act requires local governments to store electronic voting machines in rooms with regulated temperatures and humidity levels. Therefore, the commission needs $34,850 to convert a part of the Benton County Courthouse Annex into a climate-controlled room.

New paper ballots designed for optical scanners can cost between 24 and 40 cents a piece, while the county's old punch cards typically cost less than 13 cents per ballot. McCarthy said any leftover ballots will be unusable, because the county will be required to print precinct-specific information on the new paper ballots.

One figure the commission's budget does not cover is the cost of the voting machines themselves. The state and federal governments will pay for at least some of the new machines and scanners, but Benton County may be required to cover part of that cost, depending on how many devices it receives.

The commission in May recommended the county reserve one electronic voting machine for disabled voters in each of its 80 polling sites. Most voters would mark their votes on paper ballots with a pen or marker. Polling officials would take the machines and ballots to a central location in Bentonville, where commissioners would use one optical scanner to count votes.
That method would cost $368,000, all of which would be paid for by state funds. McCarthy said the system was appealing because it resembles the county's current counting method.

However, Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels may decide to place multiple voting and counting machines in each polling site at an estimated cost of $2.25 million. McCarthy said the county would be responsible for as much as $500,000 of that price.

Comptroller Richard McComas said the commission was wise not to include an estimated cost for the machines in the 2006 budget. McComas said the Quorum Court will pay any necessary cost directly from the county's general fund instead of appropriating an arbitrary amount into the commission's budget before Daniels makes his decision.

"They're doing it right. It would just be a guessing game otherwise," McComas said.