Carbon County election officials said the general election was busier than expected, but there were minimal problems.

This week, Lisa Dart, director of the election bureau, told the county election board that there was between 48 and 60 percent voter turnout at each of the precincts this past Tuesday; but even with the increase in voters, minimal problems were reported.

She said that a few issues with some of the cards occurred, and her office fielded calls from residents thinking they could register on Election Day and vote the same day.

“Other than that, not much else,” she said.

The commissioners then pointed out that the electronic voting machines used in the past election may likely be a thing of the past come the 2019 primaries.

Commissioner William O’Gurek said the board is prepared to purchase new voting machines at the start of 2019.

Right now, the county is looking at its options for new machines. All include paper in some form.

One option, Dart talked about is people receiving a paper ballot, filling in the bubbles next to the person they wish to vote for and scanning it into a machine, which keeps the paper ballot in a secured box.

At the end of the night, the elections office would have an electronic version of the votes through the scanning machine, as well as a paper backup in case a recount is needed.

The board stressed that the paper backup, no matter which option the county chooses, does not mean voters will receive a receipt of their votes, rather it is a paper trail for the county of all votes cast.

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that things are shaping up to be cheaper than initially expected.

Carbon County has earmarked $1.2 million for the voting machine replacement project, but figures are starting to drop as more models become certified by the state.