Rushville, IL – County Clerks in western Illinois will receive grants to buy new handicapped-accessible voting machines. However, some are concerned about the on-going costs of running the devices. Hancock County Clerk Kerry Asbridge estimates it could cost up to $1,000 per year per machine for ballot coding, programming and maintenance for the machines. In McDonough County, Clerk Florine Miller says she's not yet figured the cost of running the handicapped-accessible machines. She is, however, weighing whether to continue leasing the ballot-counting machines at $28,000 per year. She says support costs for the handicapped-accessible machines have not yet been calculated.
County Clerks Wary of New Election Costs
