Carbon County voters will most likely not see new voting machines when they go to the polls for the primary election in May.

On Thursday, Commissioner William O’Gurek, the sole commissioner sitting on the election board due to Commissioners Wayne Nothstein and Thomas J. Gerhard being up for re-election, spoke about where the purchase stands.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is requiring all counties to buy new machines by the 2020 presidential election. The move comes after federal authorities say Russian hackers targeted at least 21 states during 2016’s presidential election, including Pennsylvania.

In April, Wolf gave counties a deadline of 2020 to switch to voting machines that leave a paper trail. Pennsylvania is one of 13 states where some or all voters use machines that store votes electronically without printed ballots or another paper-based backup that allows a voter to double-check how their vote was recorded, an Associated Press report states.

O’Gurek said that it is very unlikely the county will have new machines in place for the upcoming primaries but may have them in place for the November general election if the new board can select a machine and make a recommendation to the commissioners.

There are multiple reasons for the delay, O’Gurek said.

The state lagging on certifying machines, then getting them approved for the COSTARS buying program were two issues that slowed the county’s decision in the purchase.

Last year, Nothstein, Gerhard and O’Gurek sat in on a number of demonstrations for models, but the process must start again with the new election board, which includes Jerry Dotter and Myron Tarapchak. Dotter and Tarapchak were appointed by Judge Roger Nanovic to replace Nothstein and Gerhard under the county code. O’Gurek is not seeking re-election and can remain on the election board.

O’Gurek said that the three will work to figure out which voting machine is best for the county and hope to make a recommendation in the coming months so the purchase can be made.

“We went to get them into use so we can see how they perform,” he said.