The Washington County Board of Commissioners authorized staff to request that the Minnesota State Auditor waive requirements about the brand of voting equipment the county must purchase to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act. The federal act mandates all voters must be able to cast ballots without assistance, regardless of physical ability. Among other features, the type of machine being considered will ìspeakî the ballot to those who are visually challenged and allow those with limited hand mobility to use tools such as a blow-tube to mark their choices. The Secretary of State is requiring that a specific voting machine be purchased throughout Minnesota. The machine certified by the Secretary of State is not compatible with the vote counting equipment used by several metro area counties, including Washington County. The waiver would allow the county to consider purchasing voting machines which would be compatible with current vote counting equipment. County officials believe their preferred machine functions equally well or better than the state-certified machine and could save the county almost $500,000.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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