Dakota County will use a new voting system for residents in all precincts and voting locations in 2026, including in-person voting, absentee voting and mail ballot locations.
The new equipment will be used beginning for the Aug. 11 primary election, as well as Election Day, Nov. 3. The equipment is from Election Systems and Software of Omaha, Nebraska.
All precincts in Dakota County will use:
- DS300 automatic optical scan ballot tabulators to count votes cast by voters on paper ballots.
- The ExpressVote universal voting system for an electronic ballot display and the ability to read and mark on universal ballot stock. It is designed for an independent voting experience for any voter.
- DS950 automatic optical scan ballot tabulators to count votes cast by voters on paper ballots. This will be used for absentee and mail ballot voting at the Dakota County Elections office.
Dakota County election judges will continue using the Poll Pad electronic roster to check in and verify the eligibility of voters and to register new voters.
Dakota County's electronic voting system:
- Relies on human-readable and auditable paper ballot records completed by the voter.
- Has been approved and certified for use in Minnesota by the Secretary of State.
- Is certified at the federal and state level and will be tested before each election.
The public can inspect the new equipment at the Administration Center in Hastings and request instruction on its use. For more information, contact Dakota County Elections at 651-438-4305 or elections@co.dakota.mn.us.