SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's Election Commission would get about $6 million in one-time money to buy laptops that can speed up precinct lines and save for a future replacement of voting machines under a budget plan proposed by the state House.
The money is part of $113 million the budget proposal distributes from this fiscal year's rainy day fund.
Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire says $600,000 will buy 1,200 laptops with electronic voter registration lists which can help move lines because poll managers can process voters more quickly, compared to paper lists. The electronic look-up also enables poll workers to tell voters who show up at the wrong precinct where they need to go.
The agency would set $5 million aside to begin saving for a new statewide voting system needed after 2016.