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Luzerne County, Pa., to Host Polling Equipment Demonstration

Following a request for proposals in February, officials will host presentations from four vendors. The county’s existing equipment contract expires at year’s end. Luzerne is one of 13 state counties that use ballot marking devices.

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(TNS) — Representatives from potential voting system vendors will demonstrate their polling place equipment at the Luzerne County Courthouse this Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Attendees at the public demonstration will be able to “complete a brief feedback survey to assist the Bureau of Elections with their recommendation for the voting system to be used in Luzerne County beginning in 2026,” Director of Elections Emily Cook said in a news release.

County council approved a $3.6 million contract with Dominion Voting Systems in 2019, and the contract for support and licensing expires at the end of this year. Four vendors responded to the county’s request for proposals in February — Dominion, Clear Ballot Group Inc., Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic.

Dominion offered new equipment for $2 million with a trade-in of $207,000 for current equipment and would charge $258,465 for an annual license and warranty fees, according to a bid tabulation document. An outright purchase of the current equipment would cost $239,500 with $226,135 charged for an annual license and warranty fees.

Clear Ballot Group offered $2.2 million for equipment, software and services, which includes a new customer hardware discount of $705,925 and annual support would cost an additional $175,750.

ES&S offered $2.8 million for equipment, software and service for the first year with support for the second year costing $169,835. A lease/finance option for three years would cost $3 million.

Hart InterCivic offered $2.9 million for equipment, software and support, which includes discounts of $1.7 million. The cost for an annual license and support fees would be $274,000 for the four years that follow the first year.

Another option for the county is using hand-marked paper ballots at polling places for future elections. The county used hand-marked paper ballots at the polls for the 2023 primary election, instead of using the Dominion’s ballot marking equipment.

Then-Election Director Eryn Harvey claimed the county would save money by not paying Dominion to program their machines. Primary election voters at polling places in 2023 marked ballots by hand and had to feed their hand-marked paper ballots into a tabulator/scanner for their votes to be cast.

The county still had a ballot marking device available at each polling location for voters with disabilities. The argument against using paper ballots at polling locations was they result in more overvotes, errors and disputed ballots.

Luzerne County is one of 13 counties in Pennsylvania that use ballot marking devices for all voters at polling places, while 54 counties use mostly hand-marked paper ballots or a hybrid option, according to Verified Voting, a nonpartisan elections technology organization that tracks machines used nationwide. In Pennsylvania, 12.5% of registered voters live in jurisdictions that use ballot marking devices for all voters.

The county went back to using the Dominion equipment at polling places in the 2023 general election. The county used the Dominion equipment at polling places for the 2022 general election, which was marred by a ballot paper shortage that forced a county judge to order polls to stay open to allow people to vote.

The Dominion ballot marking devices used at Luzerne County polling places print ballots that need to be inserted into a scanning machine at each polling place. District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce investigated the paper shortage and blamed it on human error.

© 2025 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). Visit citizensvoice.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.