Supervisors view new voting machines, take no action on purchase

The Grundy County Board of Supervisors walked to the annex building and received a detailed summary of new voting machines from Dani Dunham of Matt Parrott Election Services during Monday morning’s regular meeting.
           
Inquiries from the board, County Auditor Rhonda Deters and her staff ranged from the ease of use of the new units and the cost (about $3,500 each) to the inevitable question of whether the Russians could hack into them during the 2020 election. As Dunham explained, nothing is completely secure in this day and age, but Deters added that Grundy County has always taken election security extremely seriously.
           
In all, the county would likely need to purchase nine of the machines—one for each of its seven precincts, one for absentee ballots and one as a backup. Dunham, who works out of Waterloo, also touted the plug and go simplicity of the units as a major selling point and promised to be available to assist with any problems that might arise. The board did not take any official action, but conversations are expected to continue, as the machines have not been replaced in almost 30 years. 
 
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here.