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Politics

San Diego County Eyeing $20 Million Voter System Upgrade

Voters turn in ballots at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters in Kearny Mesa, Nov. 5, 2018.
Matt Hoffman/KPBS
Voters turn in ballots at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters in Kearny Mesa, Nov. 5, 2018.

The county of San Diego said its current system for administering elections is not efficient. The county board of supervisors will vote Tuesday to move $20 million for a new voting system. The county anticipates the money will be reimbursed from state and federal funds.

The county said it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain old ballot scanners — and fewer computers are available with the current Windows XP operating system. Windows XP was debuted in 2001 and Microsoft no longer offers support for the system.

RELATED: San Diego County Registrar Announces Final, Certified Midterm Election Results

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If the upgrade is approved, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters would enter into a competitive bidding process to find a state-approved vendor.

The system upgrade would include things like computers, scanners, touchscreen units and software, with the goal of making voting more efficient. The county hopes to have a new voting system in place for the 2020 Presidential Primary Election.

The county plans to still use traditional paper ballots if the upgrade is approved.

San Diego County Eyeing $20 Million Voter System Upgrade
If approved by the board of supervisors, the upgrade would bring new computers, scanners, touch-screen voting machines and software to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

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