Computers replace paper voter lists at polls

Any voter wanting to avoid lines on “election day” Tuesday can vote early today through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Fayette County Board of Elections Office, located in the county’s Stonewall government complex in Fayetteville.

Early voting will not be an option Monday, however, and those waiting to go to the polls will see a big change at the check-in table, according to interim Elections Superintendent Carolyn Combs. Instead of pouring through an alphabetized paper list of voters, poll workers instead will use a new statewide computer system to confirm each voter’s information, Combs said.

The computer is a touch screen model about half the size of a laptop with no keyboard; data is entered only via the touch screen. Each computer will link to a statewide database to show any other county in which a voter may have previously registered as an elector, Combs said.

Some poll workers were training on the new system Monday morning.

The state legislature’s recent law requiring the use of a photo ID only at the polls has been set aside after a ruling from a Fulton County Superior Court judge. This means any one of 17 “valid” items can be used to establish a voter’s identification, including a driver’s license, ID card, military ID, student ID, license to carry a weapon, certified birth certificate, Social Security card, a government check or government document that shows the name and address of an elector or a current utility bill showing the elector’s name and address. [A complete listing of ID documents is on Page A19.]

Voting for next Tuesday’s primary election began Monday and runs through Friday at 5 p.m. at the Fayette County Board of Elections Office, located in the county’s Stonewall government complex in Fayetteville.

The elections office is on the second floor at the county Stonewall complex. To get to the elections office, enter the center of the L-shaped building, go upstairs and take a left when exiting the atrium. The elections office entrance is the second door on your left.

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