Potter County GOP Chair Dan Rogers Addresses Potter County Commissioners’ Court/Screenshot via Potter County
During a meeting on Monday morning, the Potter County Commissioners’ Court rejected a resolution presented by Potter County Republican Party Chairman Dan Rogers pushing for paper ballots and an end to county-wide polling places.
The resolution, which was passed by the Potter County Republican Party, called for the county to “adopt hand-marked, self-authenticated, tangible ballots, sequentially numbered by precinct, that can be verified beginning with the 2024 primary election.”
Rogers framed the issue as being a means to improve trust in elections. “A lot of people have concerns voting on electronic equipment,” said Rogers, who stressed that he wasn’t alleging the current system was fraudulent. “We are not saying that they are fraudulent.”
Rogers also argued that the resolution would “decentralize our elections back to the county level.”
Former Potter County Elections Administrator Melynn Huntley pushed back. “I have concerns about the security of paper,” said Huntley. “Let’s not go back to last century technology.”
At the end of the meeting, the county commission took Huntley’s side on the issue. Commissioner Precinct 4 Warren Coble made a motion for the county to “keep the present system that we have for voting.” Coble’s motion passed unanimously.
This is the second primary election cycle in a row during which the Potter County GOP has pushed for moving to a fully paper ballot system.