HARRISBURG, DAUPHIN COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A fourth new voting system has been certified as state officials aim to meet Governor Wolf’s 2020 paper trail mandate.

Pennsylvania’s fourth new voting system has been certified by Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar. A new voting system cannot be certified until it meets the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the Department of State’s security and accessibility standards.

In April of 2018, the department encouraged counties to offer a new voting system by the end of 2019 that provides a paper trail.

“With certification of this fourth system, we continue to give Pennsylvania county officials more options as they move to replace their voting systems,” Secretary Boockvar said. “The counties have been exploring these options and finalizing their decisions, and are well on their way toward having all Pennsylvanians voting on the most secure, auditable and accessible system available.”

Governor Wolf has been seeking funding for new voting systems and has already secured $14.15 million to change the systems in at least half of our counties.

Systems with paper trails allow for more reliable and accurate post-election audits, and these new systems are to be in effect no later than the 2020 primary.

There will be a regional voting expo on January 29 in Erie Pennsylvania. The event is meant to inform voters and local officials about new voting systems and give them an opportunity to test the systems’ features.