Michigan voters will see major changes in the state’s election system in the coming years, state Elections Director Chris Thomas told a state House committee Thursday.
States’ elections systems are catching up with today’s technology, Thomas told the House Redistricting and Elections Committee at a hearing.
“It’s got to get better,” Thomas said. “Technology in elections hasn’t been the best in the world.”
Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller, the state’s top election official, has pushed for a uniform voting system for the 5,380 precincts and for reducing the number of elections to four a year.
Thomas said the secretary of state’s office will offer the Legislature several recommendations about elections next month. Among systems under consideration are computer touch screens and optical scan, Thomas said. He added that elections officials will talk to local clerks about which system works best for them before deciding on a statewide method.
A new system would have to be approved by the Board of State Canvassers, Thomas said.
Now, 3,006 precincts in Michigan use optical scan, 1,440 use punch card ballots, 700 use mechanical lever machines, 97 use touch screens or punch buttons and 137 use paper ballots.
