By WECT Staff | January 29, 2020 at 11:32 AM EST – Updated January 29 at 11:32 AM
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Brunswick County has a new voting system to replace the old voting machines that had been used since 2006.
Voters are invited to see how the new voting equipment will work during an interactive demonstration Wednesday, Jan. 29. The goal is to help voters understand the machines ahead of the upcoming primary election next month.
Test out the machines, 4-6 p.m., inside the Commissioners’ Chambers in the David Sandifer Administration Building, located at 30 Government Center Drive NE in Bolivia.
Staff will be available to answer questions about the new voting system as well as provide information about the upcoming primary election.
“We are excited to introduce voters to our new equipment,” said Sara Knotts, Director of the Brunswick County Board of Elections. “We want voters to be comfortable with the transition from touch screen voting to hand marked paper ballots.”
The new Verity voting equipment features a paper ballot that is hand marked by the voter completely filling in the rectangle next to their section. Once the ballot is filled out, the voter inserts into a scanner.
The Board of Elections says this system is user-friendly and provides an accessible device to enable all voters, including those with disabilities, to mark their ballots privately and independently. This accessible ballot marking device includes an audio ballot reader and accommodates adaptive devices such as a sip-and-puff.
The primary election will be held March 3, 2020. One-stop early voting begins Thursday, Feb. 13 and ends on Saturday, Feb. 29.
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