Board Approves Contracts to Upgrade Voting Systems

Liz Gullett

Jan 27, 2017

This week, the State Administrative Board approved 10-year contracts with three vendors, including MLC client Hart InterCivic, for optical-scan voting systems that read and tabulate paper ballots marked by voters. Each of the state’s eighty-three county clerks will now select one of the three approved vendors to upgrade their county’s voting system. Local clerks have been advocating for updated equipment, as the current equipment was rolled out in 2004 and 2005 and is outdated.

The new equipment, which includes ballot tabulators, accessible devices for use by voters with disabilities, and election-management and reporting software, could be in use as early as the August 2017 primary local elections, depending on how quickly clerks are ready to implement them. All cities and townships across the state will have the new equipment by August 2018, which is the next scheduled statewide election.

The new systems all use digital optical scan technology, which includes notable improvements and increased ease of use for voters and election administrators. The systems allow for electronic storage of ballot images, a feature that will be useful during post-election audits.

The new equipment will be paid for with $30 million in federal Help America Vote Act money that the Secretary of State’s Office has saved for more than a decade, and with $10 million approved by the Legislature with the support of Governor Snyder. This funding will cover most of the up-front cost for the new systems.

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