Election board nixes using paper ballots for primary vote

VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) - Election officials in a southwestern Indiana county have nixed an idea to save money by not using voting machines during an upcoming primary vote.

Knox County Clerk David Shelton had said that going "old school" and using paper ballots would save money that would typically be spent to program voting machines as well as additional costs. The Vincennes Sun-Commercial reports the county's Election Board on Thursday passed on the idea.

Shelton said the programming cost was more than $3,000 plus additional expenses. He said printing paper ballots would likely cost less than $1,500.

The single-race City Council primary with two Democratic candidates is May 7.

Local Democratic Party leaders opposed the paper ballot idea. Election board member Dale Webster said he thought it would cause "confusion" at the polls.

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Information from: Vincennes Sun-Commercial, http://www.vincennes.com