Summit County Board of Elections prepares voting machines for August election

Summit County residents who hit the polls will be presented with voting machines newly installed earlier this year, Summit County Board of Elections Director Lance Reed said.

This newer fleet of voting machines was first used in the spring election and will be used again for the Aug. 8 special election, according to the Summit County Board of Elections. For those who missed the spring election, voting will mirror the previous paper and pen system. Touch-screen computers and remotes will make the voting process easier for people with disabilities.

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"Voters will not see a huge difference up front, as the votes will be tabulated on paper," Reed said. For the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant machines, "they will just have to log in to the machine and mark their vote on the screen."

But before these go into use for what could be a booming election day, Summit County Board of Elections poll workers need to set up and test the machines, he said.

Switching to a new mode of voting

In early 2023, Summit County moved from Election Systems and Software to Clear Ballot, an equipment and software provider other counties have switched to, including Cuyahoga County.

The price tag for Summit County was estimated at roughly $4.58 million, according to legislation passed by County Council in 2022.

The county entered into a sublease-purchase and financing agreement with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office for up to $4.6 million to purchase the equipment.

The previous system under Election Systems and Software saw voters fill in their paper ballots before tearing off a bar code and inserting the remaining ballot into a tabulation machine, Reed explained. The bar code would then go into a box.

Clear Ballot mirrors this system, with voters filling in paper ballots and inserting them into a tabulation machine, he said.

Once it's inserted, the computer scans the ballot for errors and records each vote before depositing it into a box attached to the back of the machine, according to Clear Ballot's website.

A new digital voting machine is also available for people with disabilities. It includes a touch screen and a remote wired into the computer, according to Clear Ballot.

Upon completing and reviewing the ballot, a printer will eject a filled-in paper ballot that can be inserted into the tabulation machine, Reed said.

Deputy Director Pete Zeigler said the old voting system was roughly 15 years old and needed to be replaced with a newer model.

Booming early voting turnout

Early voting turnout has exceeded expectations for the Aug. 8 election, Zeigler said.

By Thursday, just 16 days after early voting began, roughly 7,000 people had hit the polls in person, and nearly 11,200 ballots were mailed out, he said.

"No one knew what to expect, because it is such an unprecedented election," Zeigler said.

If this trend continues, he hopes election day turnout will be just as high.

Issues with mail-in ballots

Of those nearly 11,200 mailed ballots, Zeigler said some residents have not received their ballots despite each being sent out.

"I'm not the postmaster," he said. "Once you put a ballot in the mail, we have no control over it. Most get out just fine."

If anyone has issues with their ballots, Zeigler recommended calling the Summit County Board of Elections at 330-643-5200 or visiting the office at 470 Grant St. in person.

"People can come down and vote in person; early voting is going on until Aug. 6," he said. "If you come down, we can void the mail-in ballot and you can vote in person."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County voters to use Clear Ballot voting machines in August