Mecklenburg voters to use new voting machines in 2020. Here’s why they’re changing.

Mecklenburg County residents will likely vote starting next year on new touch-screen machines that also print out their marked ballots, part of an estimated $15 million technology reboot to ensure there’s a paper trail at the polls.

The ExpressVote universal voting system — which costs almost $3,400 apiece — is similar to the direct recording devices that have been used in the county since 2006. But voters will now be presented with a physical copy of their ballot, allowing them to verify their selections before submitting them.

If the ballot looks correct, voters will then insert the paper into a separate digital scanner and tabulator machine, called the DS200 that costs nearly $5,800. If changes are needed, voters can ask precinct workers to void the ballot and start fresh.

“Hopefully, voters can easily handle this and be able to use it,” said Michael Dickerson, the elections director for Mecklenburg County. “I think voters will be quite happy, especially the young voters.”

The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections unanimously approved the new voting technology Wednesday afternoon, deciding to purchase 350 scanners and 2,400 ExpressVote devices, said spokeswoman Kristin Mavromatis.

The next steps involve seeking approval for the purchase from the State Board of Elections and asking the county commissioners to provide the funding.

Mavromatis said the total contract price is unknown. The board still needs to consider the cost of other equipment, such as flash drives and voting booths, in addition to storage needs to accommodate the bulkier systems, she said.

The overhaul stems from a 2013 North Carolina voter law requiring paper ballots in an effort to maintain elections security and thwart potential hacking.

“We believe these are completely secure,” Dickerson said of the new voting system. “There’s no internet access to any of these things.”

Technically, the county’s old machines “always had the paper trail,” Dickerson said, in the form of a paper roll next to the electronic screen.

Yet various components on this outgoing system blurred what could be considered the ballot, including the real-time audit log and internal memory. ExpressVote clarifies the vote summary card constitutes the ballot, Mavromatis said.

The state “wanted an actual ballot,” she said. The machines were tested during the municipal election earlier this month.

Through ExpressVote, Mecklenburg residents will navigate a series of screens as they cast their ballots, receiving prompts along the way. The system, for example, will notify voters if they can select more candidates in a given race.

Voters can enlarge the text and change the color contrast on the machine. Among other accessibility features, ExpressVote comes with a headphone jack, privacy screen and detachable keypad.

Traditional pen-and-paper ballots, filled out like standardized school tests, will continue to be on hand at precincts — especially for those who vote curbside.

Dickerson said he expects the new technology will make the voting process faster in the 2020 primary and general elections.

“Instead of you sitting there filling in oval after oval, you’re touching a screen just like you do now,” Dickerson said. “It won’t let you mess up.”