Costs for the “Rest of the Apple”
What is the cost of the “rest of the apple”? For voting equipment, we don’t know. Some possible items are shown in the image below, including items like the purchase or lease of the machines. How much would those costs increase the per ballot price? Also, consider the staff and time that goes into the pre-election testing of the machines, as well as the post-election testing. By law, these machines require 24/7/365 security and monitoring. How much does that all cost?
So, I cannot tell you how much the per ballot cast would increase costs. It suffices to say that, at a minimum, it is $3.84 per ballot cast to count using voting machines, but I have heard estimates of over $20 per ballot cast to use voting machines.
What about the “rest of the apple” for hand counting? These costs include secure ballot boxes, security seals, printing, binders, office supplies, etc. Everything needed for hand counting adds about $1.10 per ballot cast. Combine the labor cost for hand counting of $1.61 per ballot plus the additional $1.10 per ballot for other expenses, and the entire “apple” cost for handing is $2.71 per ballot cast.
The “apple” (hand counting) to “slice” (machine counting) comparison is $2.71 per ballot cast for hand counting compared to at least $3.84 per ballot cast for voting machine costs. That is a difference of $1.13 per ballot cast at a minimum, but likely much higher if the actual costs of voting machines were known.
