By Casey Northcutt
Murray, KY – Next month, voters in eight area counties will cast their ballots on a new digital scan voting system incorporating verified paper records. The State Board of Elections has provided 34 Kentucky counties with approximately 45 hundred dollars from the Federal Help America Vote Act to help purchase the systems, called eScans. The new machines capture selections on printed ballots and produce a single set of election reports, reducing the time needed to tabulate unofficial vote totals. Voters, however, can still choose whether or not to use the new system. Precincts in Ballard, Carlisle, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Muhlenberg, Todd, and Trigg counties will use the eScans in next month's general election.