Published: July 04, 2008 11:46 am      

Voting machine rental cost may go up

It’s been learn as you go for Henderson County and other government entities around the country implementing changes mandated by the Help America Vote Act.

After conducting several elections, including a full slate of city and school board races May 10, the county is contemplating raising the amount it charges municipalities for the use of electronic voting machines. The Help American Vote Act requires counties to make its voting machines available to various entities if those machines aren’t being used.

Henderson County Elections Administrator Denise Hernandez appeared before Commissioners Court Tuesday to discuss issues related to the May 10 election. County Judge David Holstein asked if the rate the county is charging is sufficient.

“Is the rate that we’re charging, $100 per voting day, is that a standard for other counties?” Holstein asked.

Hernandez said she had been in contact with other counties and was gathering information about their voting machine charges.

“I believe that’s the minimum we can charge, and it can go up,” Hernandez said.

Holstein asked if the fee charged by Henderson County was high enough to cover its costs when supplying the voting equipment.

“We’re not here to make money, but we’re certainly not going to subsidize other entities,” Holstein said.

Hernandez said the charge does not cover the expense to the county or the man hours spent preparing and providing the machines.

Holstein asked for Hernandez to prepare a report for commissioners concerning the costs.

The entities that held elections in May contracted to use the machines for two weeks of early balloting and on election day.

Many of the municipalities and school boards submitted requests for interlocal agreements with the county to contract for the use of the machines. Cities and counties (as well as other political entities) are permitted to enter “interlocal agreements” to share services. Commissioners received requests from many of the entities after the May 10 election had been conducted.

“I would like to see, before they pick up a machine, that they have these contracts in,” Pct. 4 Commissioner Jerry West said.

County Clerk Gwen Moffeit said there is a small window of time between the end of the candidate filing period and the time Hernandez’s department must prepare the machines for early balloting. Some entities do not get any contested races and cancel their elections.

“Everybody knows if they’re going to have an election,” West said. “They can go ahead and do a contract and if it turns out they don’t need it — they don’t need it.”

West said the November 2008 election will require almost all of the county’s supply of voting machines. The general election will tie up all but three.

In addition, Cross Roads Independent School District will need one for a board election. That leaves only two back-up machines for any unforeseen malfunctions.