A new Georgia voter registration system reduced waits during early voting and allowed voters to see proof online that they participated within minutes of casting their ballots Tuesday, according to state election officials.
The technology eliminated a requirement for voters to fill out paper forms at early voting locations, instead allowing them to check in through tablets managed by poll workers.
In addition, voters can now view their voting history on the state’s My Voter Page, providing records of every election since 1990.
“Shorter wait times mean less confusion at the polls, less errors and increased voter confidence,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. “We applaud our county election officials for getting the job done once again.”
The changes were made possible by check-in tablets called PollPads that use cellular connections from voting locations to Georgia’s upgraded voter registration system, which the state rolled out earlier this year. Voting touchscreens and scanners aren’t connected to the internet.
This year’s election was the first major test for the voter registration system, nicknamed GARViS, which replaced ElectioNet, a system that broke down amid high turnout during early voting in October 2020.
The new system was used in the 122 Georgia counties that held local elections Tuesday.
Athens-Clarke County Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee said poll workers had to spend less time running reports and checking records for accuracy.
“This method made it possible for our poll workers to reconcile the total votes cast to the number of (voters) given credit in GARViS each day,” Sosebee said.
Voters can check their election participation history through the My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov, which also lists their registration information, voting locations and elected officials.
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