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Georgia Voting on the Web • Georgia Counts

In an attempt to avoid the voting debacles that have taken place in Florida during the last couple of elections, Georgia legislators have pushed hard for upgrading the voting system in the state. With the introduction of electronic voting, the state hopes to improve not only vote count accuracy but also encourage higher voter turnout.

The new machines have components of an ATM machine, in that you slide a "voter access card" into the system to get started, much like you would your ATM card. Voters will be looking at a large computer monitor which will guide them through the rest of the process. It has touch screen functionality, much like the "U-Scan" self-checkout machines at some grocery stores. Voters will simply follow the directions on the screen, making their selections by touching the box next to their preferred choices. At the end of the ballot, there's a Summary Page that will allow the voter to review all of the selections he/she made, and to change any of their previous choices. The final step is to press the "Cast Ballot" button, at which point, the voter will not be able to make any further changes to their ballot. The voter access card will automatically eject once the ballot has been cast, and the voter is asked to return the card to a poll official, who will reauthorize the card for the next voter.

For the visually impaired, audio ballots will be available at each precinct.

Hopefully the new electronic voting system will improve the election process in the state, and eliminate most of the "voting irregularities" complaints that have plagued important elections in the recent past.