Six months before the November general election, the Tippecanoe County Election Board is shopping for a new contractor to provide computer software needed to run the voting system.
The three-member board voted Friday to cancel the county’s contract with Robis Elections, based in Wheaton, Illinois.
Problems with software that electronically checked in voters at the polls this year, on top of mistakes in the coding for some West Lafayette precincts last year, prompted County Clerk Christa Coffey to recommend the county make a change.
Election Board Chairman Randy Vonderheide says the county can’t take a chance in November, when voter turnout is expected to be heavy.
“There’s two elections in a row that we’ve had these difficulties, and we have enough other problems with all the moving parts of an election, let alone dealing with software that we know has been a problem in the past,” he says. “So we’re trying to eliminate as many problems as we can.”
Coffey says she will invite state-certified vendors to demonstrate their products next month, She expects the board can choose a new contractor in plenty of time before the fall ballot is finalized in September.