Guilford County Will Use Paper Ballots, Adds Early Voting Sites For 2020

Guilford County will have a new voting system in 2020. Voters will use hand-marked paper ballots instead of computer touch screens.

The local Board of Elections approved the change by a 3 to 2 vote on Tuesday. Voters will mark their choices by hand and the ballot will be put through a scanner that will tabulate the results.

Those who support paper ballots say they help reduce the risk of election hacking and can be more cost-effective.

Guilford election officials also approved 15 early voting sites for the March primary during their Tuesday meeting.

The list includes the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T University. A group of students from A&T attended the board's meeting on Tuesday and urged members to add the school. They say not having a site on campus during early voting suppresses turnout among students and black voters.

Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt says A&T has been used as an early voting site in the past during presidential general elections but this is the first time it will be used for early voting in primaries.

Collicutt says because the board's decision on voting sites was not unanimous, it will now go to the State Board of Elections for review.

Although there's a lot of work ahead, Collicutt says his team will work quickly to implement the voting system changes in time for the March 2020 primary.

The next step for election officials is to pick a precinct involved in the November 5 municipal elections in order to test the new paper ballot system.

*You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news