Town Meeting Approves $100,000 for Transition to Electronic Voting
Key Points
- Hingham will invest $100,000 in electronic voting technology for future meetings.
- The devices are intended to increase accuracy and speed during counted votes.
- The move brings Hingham in line with several neighboring towns that have already adopted digital tallies.
Future Hingham Town Meetings will likely look different after voters approved $100,000 to purchase or lease electronic voting devices under Article 34. The funding, drawn from the town's unassigned fund balance, will provide handheld clickers to registered voters, allowing for faster and more private tallies on contentious articles.
The move follows several years of closely contested standing votes that required time-consuming manual counts by tellers. Supporters noted that electronic voting would increase efficiency and could encourage more residents to participate in votes without the pressure of a public show of hands or standing count. The motion passed by a majority voice vote.
Motion: To appropriate $100,000 from unassigned fund balance for electronic voting devices.
Vote: Majority voice vote, Passed