You Can See Proof that Hand Counting Costs Less than Machines
Frustrated that his requests for itemized election expenditure reports were not being fulfilled, Councilman Joe Brazil of St Charles County, Missouri, asked his staff to compile a list of all such expenses requiring council approval. The list, St Charles County Council-Approved Election Purchases 2010 to 2023, was shared with our team for review and comment.
Brazil’s report does not include the election expenses coming out of the regular elections department budget. It also does not include any expenditures for 2024 and may be incomplete for 2023. An updated version of the council-approved expenditures report is being prepared.
Even missing some expenditures, this report alone shows an annual savings for St Charles county elections of at least $67,863.
How We Calculated the $67,863 (minimum) Savings With Hand Counting
These are the items pulled from the St Charles County Council-Approved Election Purchases 2010 to 2023 document. The right-hand column explains our calculation step for each item.
| Date | Item/Vendor | Amount | Calculation Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/25/13 | Election Voting System – Unisyn Voting Solutions | $1,021,685.00 | Pro-Rated Initial Cost: $1,021,685 ÷ 12 years = $85,140.42/year × 11 years (2014–2024) = $936,544.62 (fully eliminated). |
| 7/28/14 | Purchase & delivery of 130 ADA E-voting booths – H. Adkins | $24,739.00 | Additional Equipment: $24,739 (machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| 2/9/15 | Election Support Services – Henry Adkins & Sons | $575,010.03 | Election Services: $575,010.03 (80% machine-specific, contributes to $105,818.36/year). |
| 2/2016 | OVO Voting Machines/Scanners – Henry Adkins & Sons | $28,740.00 | Additional Equipment: $28,740 (machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| 3/28/16 | Custom steel transport cabinets (95 qty.) – Metal Fabrication STL | $67,014.90 | Additional Equipment: $67,014.90 (machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| 2/16/18 | Election Services – Henry Adkins & Sons | $386,920.00 | Election Services: $386,920 (80% machine-specific, contributes to $105,818.36/year). |
| 9/9/20 | VT-Freedom Vote Tablets (130 qty.) – Henry Adkins & Sons | $304,850.00 | Additional Equipment: $304,850 (machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| 3/29/21 | Election Services – Henry Adkins & Sons | $492,272.46 | Election Services: $492,272.46 (80% machine-specific, contributes to $105,818.36/year). |
| 10/25/21 | Election Management Software – Intech Software Solutions | $173,750.00 | Additional Equipment: $173,750 (machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| 2025 | Two County Council Approvals for Election Funding | $127,000.00 | Additional Equipment: $127,000 (assumed machine-related, fully eliminated). |
| N/A | Annual Licensing Fee (per Election Director) |
$247,995.00 (11 years) |
Licensing Fee: $22,545/year × 11 years (2014–2024) = $247,995 (fully eliminated). |
Total Voting Machine Costs (2013–2025) = $3,342,291.01
$2,053,296.39 (2013–2023 from PDF) + $127,000 (2025) + $247,995 (licensing) + $936,544.62 (pro-rated initial cost) = $3,342,291.01
Annual Average Voting Machine Cost = $303,844.64
$3,342,291.01 ÷ 11 years = $303,844.64/year
Adjusted for Hand Counting Savings:
Total Annual Voting Machine Cost Eliminated = $277,263
$22,545 + $105,818.36 + $63,759.54 + $85,140.42 = $277,263/year.
Hand Count Labor Costs (4-Year Cycle, 2024–2027):
These estimates are from the Hand Count Estimator tool for St Charles County 2024.
Total Over 4 Years = $837,600
$151,680 + $201,600 + $179,520 + $304,800 = $837,600
Annual Average Hand Count Labor Cost = $209,400
$837,600 ÷ 4 = $209,400/year
Comparison to Election Director’s Estimates:
In December 2023, Election Director Kurt Bahr estimated that hand counting three elections (municipal, primary, general) in one year would cost $1,303,826, based on flawed assumptions about voter turnout and race counts. Our Hand Count Estimator, developed in response, calculated a more accurate cost of $581,500 for the same three elections in 2020: $86,000 (municipal), $127,500 (primary), and $368,000 (general). More than 2 years later, Bahr revised his estimate to $287,520 for a presidential election, based on our estimator tool, but did not acknowledge the $1 million reduction from his original claim, which would have highlighted the cost-effectiveness of hand counting.
Based on: $277,263 (voting machine cost) – $209,400 (hand count cost) = $67,863/year.
Hat Tip to Grok 3 from xAI. I utilized the services of Grok 3, an xAI tool, to assist with categorizing and calculating these expenditures, and creating a table to explain the breakdown.
Your Vote Counts, so COUNT YOUR VOTE!
