Putnam Election Commission To Purchase New Voting Machines

The Putnam County Election Commission has started the process to implement new voting machines in the coming years.

Commission Chair Phil Adams said the state has mandated a paper trail for voters. Adams said the new machines would print out what you voted before submitting.

“Some people are a little hesitant with technology,” Adams said. “Some people push a button, but then they think did I push it right? So having the paper trail would allow them to verify that the button they pushed is what they are voting and give them a little more confidence.”

At this point, the commission has only approved a vendor for the machines. Adams said about 120 will be ordered for the 20 precincts across the county. Adams said the state approved some money to go along the mandate to fund the purchase.

“The machine will actually print out what you vote,” Adams said. “Once you vote, you’ll hit a button that’s called verify. You can see on paper what you voted for. If you like it, then you press accept. If you don’t like it, it gives you the opportunity to go back, revote and verify once more.”

Adams said the machines will not be used until the election in 2024. They are called VVPAT, or voter-verified paper audit trail.

“We want to safeguard that paper, so our is behind a glass screen,” Adams said. “It’s paper and you’ll see it and if you accept it, it rolls up. We’ll save those papers for a number of years, so if we ever have to do an audit, we can look at that paper again.”