Bartholomew County will be one of a handful of Indiana counties with a new verification system that leaves a paper record of each electronic ballot cast on every voting machine for the May 5 primary and the Nov. 3 general election.
Last week, MicroVote, the county’s voting machine vendor, told county election officials that all 137 of Bartholomew County’s voting machines will be equipped with the system, called a voter-verified paper audit trail, or VVPAT, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps.
A VVPAT is an independent verification system added to electronic voting machines that prints and stores paper copies of electronic voting records to safeguard against possible election fraud and voting machine malfunction.
Columbus voters tried out the new system as part of a pilot program during the municipal elections this past November. County election officials said the trial run was a “great success.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“It’s exciting. It gives peace of mind to everyone and consistency in (the voting) process,” Phelps said. “It’s all hands on deck for this election coming up and this is just another layer of security, and we’re moving forward in very positive direction.”
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office has purchased 60 VVPATs for Bartholomew County, each costing between $1,500 to $2,000, Phelps said.
Other Indiana counties that do not plan to use all their VVPATs have donated 77 of their devices to Bartholomew County.
Currently, under state law, at least 10% of a county’s electronic voting machines must have a VVPAT, Phelps said. By Dec. 31, 2029, all electronic voting machines in the state must have the devices.
With early voting for the May 5 primary starting April 7, county election officials are working with MicroVote to get the ballots ready, Phelps said.
