A state voting machine bill garnering much political attention shouldn't affect Butler County's plans for its own new machines.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to act on a bill that would fund voting machine purchases for counties throughout the state. How he will act is unclear, as the bill arrived on his desk with almost solely Republican support.

If the Democratic governor signs on, he'll get his voting machine goal funded, but with strings attached.

The biggest add-on is the removal of straight ticket voting as an option in state elections. Voters would no longer be able to punch a single button to vote all Democrat or all Republican.

The change was a late addition made shortly before the final vote, and has drawn criticism from Democrats claiming the change is being made in hopes it benefits Republicans' election chances.

In both the House and Senate, every Republican voted for the proposed bill. Just three Democrats in the Senate and four in the House voted to pass the measure.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, offered his reasoning for his “yes” vote. He confirmed the bill wouldn't have gotten his support if not for all the other things packed in with the voting machine funding, which he “wasn't keen on.”

He said eliminating straight party voting would help improve voter cognizance.

“People can make up their own minds,” Hutchinson said. “They can go through and make a decision in each race.”

This saga has roots in warnings from entities, such as the FBI, that report of repeated attempts by foreign powers — Russia, for example — to interfere in American elections by hacking electronic ballots.

Wolf wields an ability to decertify election equipment and is using it to make every county buy new equipment that relies on paper ballots.

New equipment in all 67 counties is estimated to cost more than $100 million. This bill secures $90 million for the purchases.Hutchinson pointed to other parts of the bill as further reasoning for his vote, including a section preventing Wolf from decertifying equipment without legislative support.“It's the Legislature asserting itself,” Hutchinson said.Michael Coulter, a political-science professor at Grove City College, said he assumes there is an election strategy behind the straight ticket voting removal, but doesn't believe it has roots in actual political science.Coulter said he reviewed recent reports from advocates for straight ticket voting who contend it's used in higher rates by black voters. Eliminating the option, according to those advocates, is a form of voter suppression.Efforts to curb things such as early voting, same day registration or automatic voter registration are tied to voter suppression efforts in the eyes of academia, Coulter said. However, he hasn't seen the same for straight ticket voting.“I'm unaware of any significant political science research that would support the claim that getting rid of this would hinder voters,” Coulter said.Pennsylvania is one of nine states with straight ticket voting.Coulter said he suspects both parties are considering it in terms of short-term wins. Namely, in the upcoming 2020 election.“The simplest explanation is a fear that in 2020 Republicans would lose some down-ballot voters,” Coulter said.

Whatever the explanation, the outcome of this legislation should have little impact on Butler County's purchase of new paper ballot machines.The machines, which are essentially scanners with a built-in locking box mechanism, are scheduled to arrive later this month and will debut in November, according to Shari Brewer, elections bureau director.Butler County is getting 115 of the new devices and paid about $939,000 for the machines.Brewer said the model the county bought will work no matter the status of straight ticket voting.“The system we have wouldn't prevent us from doing that,' Brewer said. “We'd just program it differently.”She isn't too worried about the switch to paper, but wants to get started preparing.“Anyone who has ever had to take any kind of test where you have to fill in bubbles is already familiar with it,” Brewer said.As for that $90 million, Hutchinson said he thinks some might head back to Butler, if signed into law.“My understanding is that there is a provision for retroactive reimbursement,” he said.