Canton-Stark County's new touch screen voting machine is entering the election committee.

In the past few weeks, the warehouse manager has been accepting shipments of Dominion Voting Systems ImageCast X machines-which has caused controversy in the county. Workers have been opening the box, checking the machine for damage and testing it.

Travis Secrest, administrative assistant to the election committee, said that so far, the devices have passed all tests.

As of last week, many machines still have plastic films on their touch screens. All 1,450 people are expected to arrive by the end of August. They are planned for the November 2 general election and during the early voting in person.

More: Ohio Supreme Court: Commissioner Stark must fund the purchase of Dominion voting machines

More: Commissioner Stark approves Dominion machine to comply with court order

The county’s purchase of equipment is a major test—including a legal battle between the election commission and the county commissioner. In May, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the commissioner must fund the purchase.

Dominion reported that the retail cost of the new voting equipment was US$6.17 million, plus US$331,550 per year for software licenses, hardware warranty and some ballot printing fees. The state paid US$3.27 million. Dominion provided $1.7 million in trade-in credit, reducing Stark County's upfront costs to $1.48 million.

The remaining costs include smart cards, battery chargers, USB drives, workstations for the election committee to check paper ballots, spare batteries, training, on-site technical support, machine sealing, installation, and assisted logistics and accuracy testing required by the state.

At the same time, approximately 1,400 Premier Election Systems Accuvote TSX machines used in the Stark County elections since 2013 are now in off-site storage facilities, Secrest said. The Election Committee is still using approximately 30 TSX machines for the special elections held in Lawrence Town on August 3. Two fire levies are on the ballot.

The main difference between the old TSX machine and the new machine is the larger touch screen; voters insert the verification card at the bottom instead of the top of the machine; and the printer is quieter and is said to be less prone to paper jams.

"The functions are very similar," Secrest said. "You insert the voter card. Your vote appears. You touch the screen as usual...and then your vote is printed in the printer. The features of the voter experience will be very similar."

He said that with a larger screen, "it is easier to watch. It is also easier to see."

Secrest stated that the voting machine is not connected to any type of network.

They will also be locked and sealed. They can only be opened by Republican and Democratic poll workers.

Secrest said that each machine counts the number of votes cast on the machine, and can check the total based on the number of paper receipts and the number of voters registered to vote at the polling station.

"So there are a series of tests happening... to make sure the machine is running properly. Ballots are tabulated correctly. The entire system is safe," Secrest said.

Within three days after each batch of new machines arrives at the board of directors, the staff will conduct test voting and check the total number. Check that voters cannot vote for candidates more than allowed for a particular competition. Make sure that the screen and printer are working properly. Test the battery. It is confirmed that the function of serving the disabled is working. And check whether the machine is running the latest version of the software.

Testing and employee training must be completed by September 17, when absentee ballots will be distributed to Ohio military or overseas voters.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Secrest said.

In December, the Election Commission announced that it had selected Dominion to provide it with new voting equipment. When this decision was made, then President Donald Trump shared on social media unsubstantiated allegations that the Dominion machine was hacked and rejected his re-election.

In March of this year, the Stark County Commissioner stated that they would not approve the purchase. In a resolution, they stated that the Election Committee had not done enough to review purchases. Communication with Dominion's rival Election Systems and Software indicated that ES&S would provide more competitive prices.

The Election Commission filed a lawsuit against the commissioners in April, leading to a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court.

At the same time, Look Ahead America, a Washington, DC group founded by former Trump campaign staff and residents of Jackson Town, filed a lawsuit against the Election Commission. The organization stated that it wanted to disclose the source code of all voting machines and claimed that the board of directors held an illegal closed-door executive meeting when discussing the purchase of Dominion machines.

The case is still under trial.

Look Ahead America lawyer Curt Hartman said that due to delays in legal cases, these machines could be used in the November 2 election. However, if the judge makes a ruling in favor of its client, the county is responsible for rescinding the deal with Dominion.

"If the Election Committee takes a path that can lead to chaos, it is not my fault," he said.

Contact Robert (330) 580-8327 or robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP