(Columbus, OH) Ohio's top elections chief wants new voting machines by the 2020 presidential vote.
Secretary of State Jon Husted is challenging the governor and state lawmakers to foot the bill for more modern voting machines, sending a letter seeking $118 million in state capital improvement funds for the replacements.
Husted believes that would cover the entire cost of his preferred voting machine-- optical scan machines a review by his office found to cost least among state and federally certified machines. The secretary of state claims he’s been calling for years for the aging equipment to be modernized and the situation has become urgent.
Ohio is considered a political bellweather state in presidential elections, with just under eight million registered voters.