New election equipment is coming to Warren County

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - As the primary election draws closer, it’s looking like Warren County voters can expect some upgrades.

A Kentucky Department of Local Government Grant will be covering the $256,700 purchase of new electronic poll books and updates, as the state’s contract with the former system provider is up in May.

The electronic poll books give poll workers access to voter information at any location, rather than looking at a paper roster.

“You’re seeing these changes across the state, the majority of the counties are doing it,” said Warren County Clerk Lynette Yates. “It will save the counties money, you don’t have to have all your voting locations, things like that. It’s easier for the voter to get to anywhere in the county.”

Yates’s next goal is to purchase equipment that allows for ballots to be printed on demand at polling sites.

“We currently have someone that will, when you walk over with a poll slip, thumb through and find your ballot and hand it to you. This would just cut out that process,” Yates said. “It also would cut out any errors if someone were to misread it or something like that.”

Yates is also hoping to make two more voting centers available this year, making a total of 10 centers in Warren County.

“We just want to be progressing. The faces of elections have changed since 2020, and the legislation has changed, so we want to progress as well,” Yates said. “It makes it easier when you have the availability to go anywhere in the county versus your specific precinct in your neighborhood.”

As far as Warren County going digital with its elections in the upcoming years, Yates says she prefers the paper ballots, calling it a “cleaner process.”

Yates said she’ll be submitting these proposals in the coming days, and hopes to have them approved within the next month.

“We’re trying to gear up for 2024. That’s always such a big year when you have your presidential election and your federal election. So we’re just trying to speed up the process and make it easier for the voters as we go along,” Yates said.

In-person early voting for the primary election will be on May 11, 12, and 13 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with in-person Election Day voting on May 16 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on elections, visit the State Board of Elections website.

Copyright 2023 WBKO. All rights reserved.