Josh Elliott

You may notice some changes the next time you go the polls because the state is investing $25 million for new voting machines. The Connecticut State Bond Commission approved the funding last week because the existing machines are beginning to show signs of aging.

It's estimated the state will buy several thousand traditional ballot-counting tabulators and dozens of high-speed tabulators used to count absentee ballots in elections and primaries.

It is vital to give election workers modern equipment to accurately count ballots in a timely manner. This funding will give them the necessary tools to make sure elections run smoothly.

The Office of the Secretary of the State will begin the process of searching for a manufacturer to supply the equipment. Once the new machines are here, the state will provide the equipment to every municipality including Hamden, and the existing equipment will be retired.

This is the first time there will be a statewide replacement of all its voting machines in the past 17 years. We switched from machines with a lever to a machine that read paper ballots in 2006.