Nye voters to use all new voting machines

The 2018 election will include a whole new host of election equipment and in preparation for the upcoming primary, Nye County Clerk Sam Merlino hosted demonstrations in the Pahrump Valley, giving voters the chance to experience the new machines before heading to the polls this June.

“Although the voting screens are very similar, I think the voters will notice that they are much easier to read,” Merlino said of the new devices. “The biggest change will be the electronic poll books that replace the paper poll books. Voters will sign in on an electronic signature pad.”

Merlino hosted two demonstrations in Pahrump, the first at the Pahrump Senior Center on April 26 and the second on May 2 in the Nye County commissioners’ chambers. She said the demos were well received, with the biggest obstacle for voters appearing to be getting used to signing on the electronic signature pad. However, she was enthusiastic to help implement new technology in Nye County.

“This is an exciting new change and if the voters need any assistance, they shouldn’t hesitate to ask,” Merlino stated. “Also, we have a new voter registration system put in place on top of new voting equipment. I would ask everyone to bear with us during all of the changes. We might be a little slower getting the ID cards out and just general processing is a little slower until we get more familiar with the system.”

Although there will undoubtedly be some adjustment necessary as everyone gets used to the new systems, Merlino said she was particularly happy about one new feature of the new election equipment. “The really good news is that the voting cards will automatically be activated based on the voter registration. The workers will not be manually activating the cards as they did in the past so there will be less room for error,” she explained.

Many voters have questioned why the county needed to invest in new election equipment, and Merlino explained that was simply necessary and Nye County was not alone in the upgrade either.

“The equipment we had was purchased with federal funds in 2004 and it was purchased for all counties. Although it was still very accurate, the machines were literally falling apart and irreparable,” she said. “The whole state received replacement equipment this year.”

Nye County was not made to bear the financial burden alone, however, with the state chipping in as well. “The county ended up paying $216,453 and the state paid $217,520,” Merlino informed. “The subtotal was $470,862 and we received a discount of $36,889 for turning in the old equipment, so the total amount paid between county and state was $433,973. This is just for the voting machines, printers and accompanying supplies. We also bought the electronic poll books, the Welcome Voter Kiosks, for $39,180.”

Some voters have also expressed anxiety over the security of votes made on electronic voting machines and Merlino endeavored to assuage those concerns. “The same security procedures are in place as before,” she stated. “Voters need to know the voting machines are stand alone. They are not connected to the Internet in any way so they are not vulnerable to hacking.”

For more information contact the Nye County Clerk’s Office at 775-751-7040.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com.