Voters in several Kansas counties will vote in the 2016 presidential election using outdated devices.
Election officials in Sedgwick County tested out two new types of voting machines Monday.
Wichita State University statistician Beth Clarkson encouraged voters to attend and examine the equipment.
Clarkson is suing the state of Kansas to try and audit the 2014 election. She said the numbers don’t add up and she’s concerned it is election fraud. The questionable machines have been one of her main issues.
The machines Sedgwick County selects will be recommended to other counties in the state, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties. Currently, Johnson County relies on all electronic voting machines, meaning there’s no paper trail.
Wyandotte County Commissioner of Elections Bruce Newby said that’s exactly why he chose to stick with paper ballots years ago.
“We don't have that problem because it was actually a mark that was made on a paper ballot,” Newby explained.
In 2015, a candidate requested a recount in Wyandotte County after he lost by just one vote.
Newby said the hand count came out exactly the same as the machine count. That’s why he believes the paper trail ensures accuracy.
Johnson County currently doesn’t have any funding for new machines, so ballots for the 2016 presidential election will be cast on the electronic machines which were purchased in 2004.
-----
Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.
