Vance County elections officials are preparing to purchase new voting equipment and will hold a public meeting next week as part of the decision-making process, according to Elections Director Faye Gill.

The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, April 19, 2021 at Perry Memorial Library in the Farm Bureau Room. During the meeting, a simulated election and test of the new voting system and ballot-marking device will take place, giving participants an idea of how the new equipment will function. The equipment was purchased from Printelect/ES&S, a certified vendor of election equipment and the county’s current vendor. The Board of Elections received $83,876 from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to help make the purchase, which must be made by June 30, 2021. Although the total cost for the new equipment exceeds $260,000, the HAVA money, along with a trade-in allowance of just over $21,000 and $30,000 from the City of Henderson reduces the amount that the county will chip in to fund the purchase.

The meeting is open to the public. Anyone interested in attending the meeting, can email Faye Gill at fgill@vancecounty.org to sign up for the meeting. Masks and social distancing will be required. Attendance is limited to 50 people.

Anyone not able to attend the April 19th meeting may provide comment to the Board of Elections via email to fgill@vancecounty.org or by delivering written comment to the Board of Elections office no later than 9:30 a.m. on April 19. The Board of Elections office is located in the Henry A. Dennis Building, 300 S. Garnett St., Henderson.

To hear more, check out the broadcast audio from TownTalk 4-13-21