Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted wants counties to modernize their voting machines before the 2020 presidential election.
Husted is urging the governor and state lawmakers to foot much of the bill. Husted has sent a letter to state legislative leaders seeking 118 million dollarsfor the project. He says that would cover 100 percent of the "lowest estimated cost" for buying the least expensive optical scan equipment. Counties that wanted to buy more expensive equipment would need to cover the difference. If approved, it would be Ohio's first state-funded voting machine upgrade. A decade ago, voting machines were replaced using federal funds made available after glitches led to a recount in the 2000 presidential election.
