Solano Co. Supervisors To Discuss Regional Voting Centers

SOLANO COUNTY, CA —The Solano County Board of Supervisors Tuesday will discuss the pros and cons of voting at current traditional polling places or switching to regional voting centers for the 2020 elections. The discussion stems from the Secretary of State's determination that current voting systems are at or near the end of their life expectancy, with voting system vendors no longer making replacement parts or providing tech support.

The state's 2018-2019 budget includes $134 million to upgrade or replace the aging voting systems. The Secretary of State informed county clerks and registrars of voters that it intends to withdraw certification and conditional approval of all the state's voting systems that have not been tested and certified to state standards effective Aug. 27, 2019.

The Solano County Registrar of Voters Office is recommending staying with the traditional polling place model as it has a reliable and proven methodology and would require limited retraining of election staff.

In its favor, regional voting centers would have fewer locations to administer and fewer provisional ballots. Regional voting centers also would increase voter flexibility on locations and dates, the Registrar of Voters Office said.

The additional general fund expenses for operations of the regional centers would be nearly $500,000 in fiscal year 2019-2020, and some individual voting district's bills will increase 25 to 30 percent, according to the county's Registrar of Voters Office.

Adopting the regional voting center model would result in a one-time, $2.4-million increase in the 2019-2020 budget to pay for the new voting systems that would have to be in place for the March 2020 primary election, the Registrar of Voters Office said.

Solano County is applying for $1.4 million in state funds to replace the existing voting system.

Approximately 30 percent of Solano County voters go to the polls.

Bay City News Service