JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) – Washington County, Tennessee commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to approve $700,000 dollars to go towards replacing voting machines in the county.
The new voting machines are part of a recent state requirement that says the process should leave a paper trail instead of being completely electronic.
Since the Washington County Election Commission has received the County Commission’s approval, the election commission will be able to receive applications and choose what specific machine they want to get next.
Washington County Administrator of Elections Dana Jones said hundreds of thousands will go towards the machines but that money will be reimbursed to the county by the state.
“We have asked them for $700,000 to buy new voting equipment,” Jones said. “We have 141 voting machines in Washington County, so we’re just going to buy 141 and be good stewards of the county’s money.”
Jones said the county has until March 2024 to implement the new machines.
A new election office building was also on the agenda Monday night. A majority of commissioners voted to approve one of the first steps in that long process, with amendments.
The original amount of money requested to go towards plans was more than $200,000 and that amount was reduced to around $25,000 for the time being.
Commissioners referred the item back to the “County-owned Property Committee” for its review.
