Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Greene County lawmakers February 11, authorized the Board of Elections to lease 29 Image Cast Evolution Machines in keeping with the state's early voting requirements. The machines facilitate voting by those with disabilities. The original resolution called for the machines to be purchased for $385,000, but lawmakers opted to lease them instead. The county also needs 30 E Poll Pad Units and two Ballot On Demand Printers. Those items will be financed by grant funding from the state Board of Elections, according to the resolution. “Over the life of the machine, it ends up being about $30,000 a year more [to lease],” Legislator Michael Bulich, a Republican who represents Catskill, said. “But you have to weigh it against it being electronic and the constant labor involved to keep these things up to snuff for basically a 10-year period.” Columbia County is still reviewing its options, Board of Supervisors Chairman Matthew Murell said. The county election commissioners will be working together to develop an equipment replacement plan, he said. “Almost all of our machines are at end of life and we will be replacing them over the next two to three years,” Murell said. In 2019, 638 people voted early in Greene County. Columbia County recorded the highest percentage of early voters statewide, with 7.5 percent, or 3,371 of the county's 45,201 registered voters, voting early. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.