Politics & Government
Residents Asked To Weigh In On New Delco Voting Systems
Delaware County residents are invited to discuss proposed new voting systems, one of which will be chosen and used in the 2020 elections.
MEDIA, PA — Delaware County 0fficials are inviting its residents to a meeting on five new voting systems being proposed for the county in July.
Residents are invited to discuss the systems at a public forum at 4 p.m. on July 9 in the Delaware County Council Public Meeting Room, 201 West Front St. in Media.
The public forum, hosted by the County’s Board of Elections and Delaware County Council is being held to allow for the public’s input on five new proposed voting systems.
Find out what's happening in Mediafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In April 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of State notified all counties of a Dec. 30 deadline to select a new voting system that provides a voter verified paper record. The new systems are to be in use no later than the 2020 primary election. The directive requires counties to use machines that have a paper trail that can be verified by voters and audited.
Delaware County Council, the county Board of Elections, and the County’s Executive Director began researching new voting systems in 2017 to identify systems that would have meet the new federal and state requirements. In Pennsylvania, every voting system and paper ballot must include plain text that voters can read to verify their choices before casting their ballot. Election officials will also use the plain text to perform pre-election testing and post-election audits and recounts.
Find out what's happening in Mediafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
There are five systems, certified by the federal and state governments which provide a voter verified paper record: Clear Ballot, Dominion Voting, ES&S Election Systems & Software, HART Intercivic, and Unisyn.
Each of the systems was displayed at a public demonstration on June 6, allowing residents to learn more about each system and to also test the machines. Representatives from each of the five companies were on hand to answer questions and a survey was available to assess the community’s feedback.
Delaware County plans to have a contract in place with a vendor by the last quarter of 2019.
The new voting machines will be used in the 2020 Primary, as mandated by Gov. Tom Wolf.
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