By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 10, 2022 | Were you surprised at the ease of voting in the May 24 primary? The State of Georgia has been tweaking the procedure of voting, and has come up with a new system that allows most of us to speed through checking in….and in voting itself.
We talked with Elections Manager Zack Manifold about the new system. He says: “it definitely improved the process. It’s so much simpler, and the staff was pleased at how quickly we could pull up a voter, if not in the state system.”
Do you remember what it was like when we previously voted? If I remember correctly, the first thing you had to do was show your identification. Then they found your name on a printed list. They handed you a paper form to write your name and home address. Eventually, you put down in which primary you wanted to vote. This was a slow process, as we diligently wrote all this down on paper.
Meanwhile, there was pressure on the poll workers, since they had to check all the details, and make sure your name listed was the way they had it. Finally, they gave you a plastic card and you went to the voting booth, inserted the card, then started making your selections. At the end, the machine asked if you wanted to cast your ballot, and when you checked OK, zoom! You ballot was recorded by the machine. But you had no paper record of it.
In 2022, the process is considerably different.
Instead of having to fill out paperwork to identify yourself, the poll worker asks for your driver’s license, and runs it through a scanner. Presto! They found you, and then handed you an iPad. You had one of three choices. You could vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary, which both had non-partisan choices….or vote in the nonpartisan primary alone. Note, too, that the poll worker did not have to know which primary you voted in; only the iPad and computer system knew.
Then you were given a card to insert at the polling place, and you voted. Once complete, instead of telling the machine to cast your vote, it then asked if you were ready to print your ballot. When you said yes, it churned out a paper ballot, which you took to the next station, and slid it into the vote tabulator machine, finally casting your vote. While you didn’t walk away with a record of your voting, if the officials had to have a recount, they could go to the paper ballots and do the recount. By the way, this paper ballot could not in any way identify the person casting that ballot.
All in all, the voting went smoothly. And when the returns started coming in, they were pretty fast. Seems the new system is a good one.
But what do we know? Bet some guy maintains this new system is lousy!
Let’s end today on another positive note: The current time may be the part of the year where Gwinnett is at its most lush in greenness. Every way a person turns, they are greeted with the now fully bloomed trees, which have pushed out their new growth of leaves. And with the rains often coming these days, the grass is thriving and some blooming plants are so colorful, especially the roses. Ah, spring. It’s wonderful…..again.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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