Early voting begins today, Rockdale County pilots new voting system

Early voters for municipal elections around the state began today as Rockdale County began using new voting machines, launching a pilot for the state of Georgia.

State officials picked Rockdale to test the new system called Expressvote. The new system allows voters to make their selections on one machine and verify their selections before casting the ballot in a separate tabulator. If a mistake is made, the voter can turn in the ballot and get a new one and start over.

Voters in the city of Conyers in Rockdale County are choosing a mayor and filling City Council seats for District 1; District 2, post 1;  and District 2, post 2.

“As of 4 p.m. today, we had 21 votes. Many people have been coming in from throughout the county but they are not eligible to participate in this election, which is only open to residents who live within the city limits of Conyers,” said Cynthia Welch, Rockdale’s supervisor of Elections.

Welch said elections officials have been showing those who are ineligible to vote how to use the new voting machines.

Welch said in addition to the 21 who voted, 14 ballots were received by mail for a total of 34 votes as of 4 p.m.

Welch said voters may call her office to determine if their residence falls within the city of Conyers: 770-278-7333.