IMPLEMENTING VOTING SYSTEMS: THE GEORGIA METHOD.

This article focuses on the use of electronic voting systems in Georgia. The history of elections and computers in Georgia is unique. DeKalb and Fulton counties in the metro-Atlanta area were the first jurisdictions in the U.S. to use computers to tally votes in a primary election in October 1964. Georgia was the first state to adopt a uniform, statewide direct-recording electronic (DRE) technology in 2002. Georgia has a model system for the deployment and management of elections technology, which combines the resources of its Secretary of State (SOS), its University system, and its county election officials. In the general election of 2000 the voters in Georgia voted on a variety of election devices. Two of the smallest counties used hand-counted paper ballots, 73 counties voted on mechanical lever machines, 17 counties voted on punch-card voting systems, and 67 counties voted on optical-scan voting systems. Deployment of the DRE technology in the summer of 2002 was characterized by the conviction of the SOS that Georgia should eliminate technological barriers to voting, such as undervotes or spoiled ballots.