FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio - If you're one of the 851,000 registered voters in Franklin County, the way you vote is about to change.
The Franklin County Board of Elections is introducing new voting machines to make the voting process simple and secure.
"The one we're replacing, it's getting older," said Franklin County Board of Elections Director Edward Leonard. "It's getting harder to maintain. So it just made sense. And the state of Ohio was also willing to provide funding. And now seemed to be the right time, before the presidential election, for us to make this implementation so that when 2020 does come, that we'll have the system in place."
Voting with the new machines is a simple, three-step process. You mark your ballot, verify your ballot, and cast your ballot.
After you check in at your polling place, you'll be given a blank ballot. Voters will insert that sheet of paper into the machine. Next, voters will make their selections on the touchscreen. Upon finishing, the machine will prompt people to double-check their selections.
To cast your vote, select "print" on the screen to print your ballot. On stand-alone machines, the ballot is printed and scanned internally. For table-top machines, voters will take their printed ballot and insert it into the ballot counter to officially cast their vote.
Leonard says all of the votes are physically tabulated. None of the machines is able to connect to the Internet to help prevent any sort of hacking or outside interference.
The new machines will be in place this spring, in time for the upcoming May primary.
Click here for more information about the Franklin County Board of Elections.