(Photo by Bret Jaspers - KJZZ)

Earlier this year, Reynaldo "Rey" Valenzuela answers questions about the proposed polling sites for the special election in the 8th Congressional district.

The elections department in Maricopa County is asking for money to expand a voter check-in system, as officials say it’ll speed up the voting process.

The vast majority of voters in the county vote by mail. But the County Recorder’s office still anticipates more than 240,000 people will show up in person this November.

“This allows for scanning of the driver’s license, scanning of your voter ID,” said Reynaldo “Rey” Valenzuela, director of elections for Maricopa County.

Valenzuela said the system was in operation in a few areas during the special primary election to replace former Congressman Trent Franks. “It speeds up the process down to about sixty seconds per voter.”

The recorder’s office has asked the Board of Supervisors to approve almost $4 million for voting equipment for this fall’s election. They are also asking to locate some neighboring voting precincts in the same location (something they call “co-locating”) in order to free up machines and personnel for other, higher-volume spots.

The board is set to vote on the request Wednesday.