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Marion County will use high tech voting machines in the May primary

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The people at the Marion County Election Board are busy preparing for the May primary in a warehouse where rows of voting machines are lined up for testing.

The county purchased 320 new voting machines at a cost of $1.4 million. Among other things it will mean that results will be posted more quickly.

“It should make the set up for poll workers a lot easier with this equipment,” said Clerk Myla Eldridge, who is proud of the new technology that is meant to making it both easier to run an election and easier to vote.

Touch screen voting machines intended to be used by voters with disabilities can also be used by others and Eldridge expects a growing number of people to choose the high tech option.

“Especially the millenials are interested in voting on an electronic machine versus a ballot card,” she said.

Others can still fill out the ovals on a paper ballot and insert it into new machines that will store and count the ballots.

Most voters won’t notice any change, but Eldridge said you can expect to hear about fewer problems at the polls on the Election Day.