After years of the State of Georgia operating with an unverifiable and fundamentally flawed E-voting system, a pilot program to test a new E-voting system with a voter-verifiable paper trail, is going smoothly and to rave reviews by voters in Rockdale County. Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s Office invited Rockdale County to participate in the pilot, as Kemp’s office is considering recommendations for implementing a new statewide system. The pilot is taking place in two precincts in Olde Towne in Rockdale County, and within the City limits of Conyers, for the General and Special Election on today, November 07, 2017. The pilot lasted for all of early voting and continues today, Election Day. Computer scientists have advocated for this type of system in Georgia since 2002, when then-Secretary of State Cathy Cox and the Georgia Legislature first installed the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines, which are without a paper trail to independently verify the voters’ intents.
The two new machines being tested in Rockdale County are the Express Vote Ballot Marking Machine and the DS 200 Scanner and Tabulator. The two machines work together: The Express Vote records your vote on a paper ballot; and the DS 200 makes an image of the ballot and saves the ballot.
… Kemp’s office said it was too soon to speculate about the final cost or which equipment would be procured. In general, the price is expected to be at least 100 million dollars, and it is hoped that a new system be in place by 2020.
The price and timeline are currently uncertain and depend on what the General Assembly decides. The General Assembly will have to put forth a bill and appropriate the funds for any new statewide voting system.
Full Article: Georgia’s E-voting Paper Trail Pilot Going Smoothly in Rockdale County | Atlanta Progressive News.