TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – Twin Falls County election officials tested the ballot counting machines on Monday afternoon. The result: they’re ready for the real thing on Tuesday.

Several names and issues are on today’s ballot.

Twin Falls County Elections Director Valerie Varadi tests a ballot counting machine on Monday afternoon at the County West Building. (Photo by Andrew Weeks)
Twin Falls County Elections Director Valerie Varadi tests a ballot counting machine on Monday afternoon at the County West Building. (Photo by Andrew Weeks)
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The two new counting machines that officials tested on Monday replaced machines the county has had since 2009. Technology changes so quickly that it was time for the county to have an upgrade, said County Clerk Kristina Glascock. The county also received two digital scanners for early voting and 23 scanners used to count ballots from handicap voters, the later used during federal elections.

The machines cost a combined total of around $270,000, paid for by county and state money, Glascock said. The county received the counting machines in late March and trained on them in early April.

County commissioners were on site during the ballot test, asking questions.

“Can these machines count different precincts at the same time?” Commissioner Terry Kramer asked.

“Oh yeah,” Glascock said.

Test ballots are seen on a new counting machine at the Election Counting office on Monday in Twin Falls. The county recently purchased two new counting machines. (Photo by Andrew Weeks)
Test ballots are seen on a new counting machine at the Election Counting office on Monday in Twin Falls. The county recently purchased two new counting machines. (Photo by Andrew Weeks)
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The new machines count 300 ballots per minute, about 7,000 ballots an hour.

The new machines will make the process more efficient, Commissioner Don Hall said.

Glascock said she doesn’t foresee any counting problems on Tuesday – but then again, it is Election Day and so there could be some surprises – and she doesn’t expect an excessive amount of voters.

“I hate to say it,” she said, noting that local elections usually don’t fare as well as national elections. “There’s so much going on in May for a lot of our citizens. People are busy, busy, busy.”

But, Glascock added, there are some items on the ballot that might very well draw people to the polls.

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