The Vance County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of new voting machines at its March 1 meeting, and County Manager Jordan McMillen said local election officials are already making plans to have new machines in place for the fall 2021 elections.

McMillen recommended purchase of the new DS200 machines at a cost of $263,064. The county would be responsible for close to $150,000 of the total cost, he stated, which will come from the county’s fund balance. A $21,800 trade-in allowance, $30,461 from the City of Henderson (the city funds 17 percent of elections expenses) and $83,876 from HAVA (Help America Vote Act) offset the overall cost by more than $136,000. The HAVA funds must be spent by June 30. On top of those offsets, McMillen said he expected to be able to save about $25,000 in equipment maintenance once the new machines are installed.

McMillen told WIZS News that elections officials have begun the process of evaluating replacement voting machines.

The current M100 machines have outlived their 10-year life expectancy by four years, according to McMillen. In the 2020 election, he said, the machines had “challenges with sensors, batteries and tabulators.”