Allen County Council made that happen Thursday by a 4-3 vote when it agreed to spend $373,725 on electronic poll books made by St. Louis-based Knowink, plus another $93,000 for a three-year service agreement. The new technology is expected to require fewer-election day workers and is needed if the county ever decides to implement vote centers that allow people to cast ballots at any center regardless of address. The books are also expected to be more accurate and, as The News-Sentinel reported earlier this month, may have prevent voters in Woodburn from casting ballots in the "wrong" primary in May that ultimtely led to the withdrawal of Mayor Richard Hoeppner.
Some of the cost will be recovered from Fort Wayne and other municipalities holding elections in May, according to Director of Elections Beth Dlug.
©2015 The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
