FRANKLIN
Franklin City Council will have its next meeting on Monday, Dec. 14. On the agenda is the discussion of the idea of replacing voting equipment before the 2016 elections.

Director of Elections and General Registrar of the City of Franklin Jenifer Maynard contacted Franklin City Manager Randy Martin about the concerns she has about the current equipment.

In her memo to Martin, she noted that in previous elections the current equipment has had technical issues — such as the motor blowing up in one of the machines and the screens not working on other ones.

The current equipment was purchased in May 2005. This equipment is referred to as Direct Recording Equipment (DRE) voting, and it is now banned for future purchasing.

“Sometimes when things get old, they get old fast. I had full intention of using them until after the elections in 2016, but that just isn’t realistic. I’ve lost confidence in what we are using,” Maynard said.

She is recommending that the council purchase new voting equipment that has a net price of $88,809.45.

Maynard also said she feels that because of the way the trend is moving, that any precincts currently using the DRE will be forced to upgrade and move to another piece of voting equipment after the 2016 Presidential Election.

The state of the current equipment and the recommended new equipment will be discussed in further detail at the meeting.