New voting machines arrive in Chatham County

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - More than 800 brand new voting machines arrived in Chatham County from Atlanta on Friday.

Five trucks packed with not only voting machines, but ballot boxes and printers had to all be unloaded.

Now that they're here, one Board of Elections member is hoping to get them out into the community to make voters more comfortable with the technology.

"What we’re hoping to do is maybe do some town hall meetings or some other opportunities to bring these machines into the community, partnering with organizations when they have meetings and things like that. And being able to let voters see it, touch it, get used to it before they go into the voting booth,” Antwan Lang said.

Space for the new equipment may temporarily be a challenge until the machines are assembled and moved to a permanent storage location.

“It’s great to have more machines, but the existing space we know is going to be a challenge. It’s the same way state-wide, where are we going to store all of this equipment," said Thomas Mahoney III, Board of Elections Chairman in Chatham County.

Just last month, the Secretary of States Office visited Savannah to show off the new machines, showing off the features that elections officials say add additional layers of accountability.

“These new voting machines now have a backup system. So as soon as you cast your ballot, rather as soon as you pick your ballot on the touch screen you’ll print it," Lang pointed out.

To help familiarize the public with the new voting machines and process, the Board of Elections Office posted links to their website that you can check out here.

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