COLLIER COUNTY: Governor Charlie Crist wants to spend $32.5 million to replace the state's touch-screen voting machines and Southwest Florida Senator Bill Nelson is proposing a bill that would ban paper-free voting nationwide. But the changes could end up costing you.
The goal behind both plans is restoring voter confidence - especially in Florida. If state and national paperless ballot bans are approved, election officials say voter accuracy could carry a price tag.
You could call it back to basics. Tuesday, Senator Bill Nelson introduced a bill that would ban paperless ballots nationwide, requiring all electronic machines to also have a paper printout.
The bill's goal mirrors Crist's plan to set aside more than $30 million in the state budget to require a paper trail.
"We're all concerned about voter confidence. We want our voters here in Collier County to have confidence in the systems they're using," said Collier County Elections Supervisor Jennifer Edwards. "It's going to cost the taxpayers more money, I think that's inevitable."
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