• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Despite few reported problems with voting centers during South Dakota's recent primary election, lofty setup costs and logistics are slowing the expansion of the system that replaces residents' precincts.
• According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, South Dakota is one of 10 states that let counties adopt the alternative system. They rely on an electronic check-in process that gives voters the flexibility of visiting one of several locations in the county. Seven counties used the centers in the primary.
• Research indicates that the centers save money in the long run, said Wendy Underhill, a program manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures. But skeptics argue implementation of the system could be pricey.
• Electronic poll book set-ups cost around $2,000 each, including a scanner, a laptop with touch screen and a signature pad, Secretary of State Jason Gant said. During the primary, voters in some counties were able to use the centers in conjunction with a Vote605 app, which gives them a ballot preview and detailed instructions for getting to the polls.
• As a state senator in 2010, Gant sponsored legislation to allow voting centers in the state and continues to support and promote them. He said seven counties have the centers and a few more are considering it.
• "I think it's moving along just right," Gant said.
• Larimer County in Colorado first developed the centers, Underhill said. The county used the system in 2003 and the state approved a framework for it in 2004.
• "They are expanding very slowly, but still expanding," Underhill said, about the progress of the centers across the nation.
• But the new technology has put off some older poll workers. Hughes County Auditor Jane Naylor said she lost a few workers who had been thinking of signing off anyway and didn't want to deal with the changes. Naylor needed about 15 fewer staff anyway, because the county opened only seven centers when the county pre

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