In 2005, just a few Utah absentee voters cast ballots by mail. And Utah and its counties had just bought new voting machines — helped by nationwide federal grants after the hanging-chad plagued Bush vs. Gore presidential election in 2000.
“We’re over a decade old on this equipment, and it’s aging. Also, it was purchased at a time when there weren’t many by-mail voters. Now we have a majority of registered voters in Utah voting by mail. So we need to make adjustments,” says Mark Thomas, director of elections for Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.
Cox’s office invited vendors from around the nation to show off new voting equipment in the state Capitol to officials and the public on Wednesday — paving the way to allow purchases before next year’s elections.