Fayette County board of elections members got a sneak peek at the new voting machines that will be used in a pilot program in three Georgia counties.

The new machine prints out a paper ballot for voters to examine before the ballot is officially cast electronically. If the voter approves of the ballot, he or she must touch a button on the screen to cast the ballot. If it is incorrect, a poll worker will be summoned to reset the machine so the vote can be cast correctly.

The machines will be used in Cobb, Bibb and Camden counties this fall, and a manual recount will be conducted on each machine using the paper ballot printouts.

Voters will not be able to keep their printout as a receipt; they must be turned back in to elections officials before leaving the polling place.

Currently, each machine records votes on an electronic card, which is inserted into a computer after the polls close to help tabulate the final tally. If a recount is required, it merely consists of conducting the same process that occurs on election night: re-inserting the same memory cards back into the tabulation server so it can determine the vote count.

This pilot program was developed by passage of Senate Bill 500 in the Georgia legislature this year. Another bill, Senate Bill 84, will require local elections boards to provide photo IDs to whose who don’t have a driver’s license or other valid form of identification. SB 84 has not yet been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice.

This information was covered in recent educational seminars attended by several members of the Fayette County Board of Elections.

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