Kansas City’s Election Overhaul: New Tech Boosts Speed and Trust

KANSAS CITY, MO – April 16, 2026 – Kansas City's municipal election on April 7 has become a focal point for the future of American voting, following the successful city-wide deployment of new election technology that officials say dramatically improved efficiency and bolstered voter confidence. With more than 26,000 ballots cast across 70 polling locations, the city's first use of the ExpressVote® Universal Voting System and DS300® tabulators from Election Systems & Software (ES&S) is being hailed as a model for modernizing the democratic process.

A Seamless Transition at the Polls

For voters and poll workers, the transition to the new equipment was designed to be as smooth as possible. The ExpressVote system allows voters to use a touchscreen to make their selections, which then prints a paper ballot containing their choices in both human-readable text and a machine-readable code. This paper ballot is then fed into the DS300 tabulator to be counted.

The approach appears to have resonated with voters, particularly during the early voting period, where 100 percent of participants used the new ExpressVote machines. Election officials reported that the streamlined process significantly cut down on wait times.

“From a voter’s perspective, speed and ease are everything,” said Shawn Kieffer, Republican member of the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. “In this election, from the time a voter walked into the polling place to the time they left, it took about two minutes. That’s a tremendous improvement. Getting people in and out quickly builds confidence in the system.”

This sentiment was echoed by his Democratic counterpart, Lauri Ealom, who emphasized the system's intuitive nature. “For most voters, the experience felt very familiar, which was important,” Ealom stated. “The equipment worked so similarly to what people were used to that it didn’t feel intimidating or disruptive. That seamlessness really matters.”

Poll workers also reported a smoother experience, noting that the new systems were easier to set up, operate, and close down at the end of a long election day. Kieffer added that running end-of-night reports was "incredibly easy," reducing stress for election staff.

Building Confidence with a Paper Trail

A central element of the new system's praise is its reliance on a physical paper record. After a voter confirms their selections on the ExpressVote screen, the machine produces a tangible ballot for their review before it is officially cast. This feature directly addresses a long-standing concern among election integrity advocates regarding purely electronic voting machines.

“Voters appreciate being able to see and review their paper ballot before casting it,” Ealom explained. “Having something tangible builds confidence. They know exactly what they voted for, and that makes people feel secure in the process.”

This shift aligns with a broader national trend. It is estimated that nearly 99% of registered voters in the next presidential election will use systems that produce a paper record, a key component for conducting meaningful post-election audits. For a city like Kansas City, which faced concerns over aging voting equipment as recently as 2014, this modernization represents a significant leap forward in ensuring the verifiability of its elections. The previous generation of machines in the region had been in service since 2002, and officials had warned that their lifespan was exceeded, creating a pressing need for a reliable, auditable replacement.

The High Stakes of Election Technology

The successful rollout in Kansas City places a spotlight on Election Systems & Software, a dominant force in the U.S. election industry. The company services approximately half of the nation's voters, making it the largest of the "big three" vendors that, along with Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic, control nearly 90% of the market.

This market concentration has drawn criticism from some security experts and lawmakers, who worry it could stifle innovation and create systemic risks. However, the vendor maintains that its systems are secure, with development and final assembly conducted in the United States and subject to third-party testing.

The cost of such upgrades is substantial. While specific figures for Kansas City's most recent procurement were not released, replacing aging voting machines nationwide is a multi-million-dollar endeavor. A single optical scanner and ballot-marking device can cost over $11,000. In Missouri, the financial responsibility is shared between state and local jurisdictions, with federal funding like the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants often playing a crucial role in enabling these expensive but necessary upgrades. Kansas City's investment follows years of discussion about the need to replace its outdated infrastructure, a challenge faced by countless counties across the country.

A Model Under Scrutiny

While Kansas City officials celebrate the April 7 election as a triumph, the deployment will be closely watched by election integrity advocates and other municipalities. The positive reports on efficiency and voter experience provide a compelling case study, but the broader context of election technology remains complex.

ES&S has faced scrutiny in other jurisdictions. In 2024, Texas decertified one of the company's electronic pollbook systems after it caused problems in a major election, and a data exposure incident in Chicago in 2017 also drew negative attention. These past events, though unrelated to the ExpressVote system used in Kansas City, underscore the high stakes and the need for constant vigilance and transparency from vendors.

As is typical for recent elections, detailed reports from independent, non-partisan observers for the April 7 vote are not yet available. Their future analysis will be critical in providing a third-party assessment of the new system's performance. For now, Kansas City's experience stands as a promising, if preliminary, example of how modern, paper-based technology can address core challenges of election administration, enhancing both the voter experience and the perceived integrity of the final count.