The Davidson County Election Commission has given the go-ahead to replace the current voting machines with a system that supports a voter-verified paper audit trail. The new technology will be put into service during the August 1 Metropolitan General Election.
“Davidson County’s voting machines have been in use for over 12 years and have reached the end of useful life,” said Jeff Roberts, administrator of elections. “After evaluating functionality, security, cost and ease of use, we concluded the Election Systems & Software (ES&S) equipment is the best choice for ensuring election integrity and enabling secure, accessible, and accurate methods for casting and counting votes,” continued Roberts. “We look forward to introducing Davidson County voters to a new paper ballot process in August, and anticipate a smooth transition to the advanced system.”
Using touch screen technology, voters will make selections at a ballot marking device, which will produce their choices on a paper ballot. After verification by the voter, the paper ballot will be inserted into a scanner, where their vote will be cast.
Purchase and implementation of the state-of-the-art equipment has been scheduled to afford voters multiple elections to become comfortable with a new voting process, before the 2020 presidential election. “The ballot marking device will function similarly to our current voting machines,” explained Roberts. “The most significant change in the voting process will be the voter’s ability to review their selections on paper, before casting their ballot.”
About the Davidson County Election Commission
The Davidson County Election Commission is responsible for providing free and fair elections to every eligible citizen. The Election Commission is regulated by State of Tennessee law and funded by Metropolitan Nashville government. The main office is located at 1417 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37217.