In 2006 Carbon County phased out its very large (about five feet high and long) and very heavy (about 800 pounds) voting machines and replaced them with light computerized machines. The old machines were put up for bid. I bid $50 for one and got it. The other machines (about 70) were taken for scrap metal.
Today we took the machine I bought to the State Museum in Harrisburg. I signed up to rent a box truck with a lift gate. The truck the rental agency had available for me was huge, bigger than anything I ever drove before. Luckily my friend Rocky, who was experienced, stepped forward to drive.
A number of people came to help load the machine on the truck. Three were members of the Towamensing Township Historical Commission, one was a Towamensing Township Supervisor accompanied by two crew members, and one was a Carbon County Commissioner. This was really a gift from our Township and our County. The Director of Carbon County elections when the machines were used arrived to show us how to operate the machine and explained how they were transported to the polling places.
We took photos and videos. A local TV station reporter and a local newspaper reporter arrived to document the loading.
When Rocky and I reached the museum, we found the truck was too tall to pass under the entryway to the loading dock in the museum’s basement. After hurried consultation, two museum employees led us to a warehouse about 15 miles west of Harrisburg. Unloading there went smoothly. Museum officials were impressed by the excellent condition of the machine, and we will send them pictures of the Election Director explaining the machine’s provenance. It was a good day.
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