By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Election equipment experts in Minnesota and in other states note that election technology has changed dramatically in the past decade. Replacement is needed, they add, in light of security risks and potential reliability flaws.

To that end, the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners approve, on a regular basis, new voting systems that replace older systems. A case in point was 2024 with the purchase of 82 Express Vote Universal Voting System units.

The express system, when it came on board, utilized touch-screen technology and produced a paper-based record for tabulation. As a marker, the Express Vote handled the entire marking process, eliminated marginal marks and the need for voter mark interpretation.

County board members approved the agreement following the recommendation of former Otter Tail County Auditor-Treasurer Wayne Stein who is now retired.

Otter Tail County has 91 precincts and replacing outdated voting equipment is warranted, note county commissioners Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids, Dan Bucholz of Perham, Bob Lahman of Parkers Prairie, Kurt Mortenson of rural Underwood and Sean Sullivan of Fergus Falls.

Needed for replacements in prior years, in light of outdated voting equipment, were tabulators, assistive voting devices and poll books. In 2017 the Minnesota State Legislature created a Voting Equipment Grant account totaling $7 million. 

At that point in time, area legislators said that creation of the voting equipment grant account was a much-needed investment in Minnesota’s election system. Over the years the five-person county board of commissioners was willing to approve needed matching funds in order to maintain the integrity of the voting system in Otter Tail County.