Chatham County will adopt new voting machines in the lead up to the 2020 elections.

That process takes a step forward Thursday as Chatham County’s Board of Elections is set to vote to recommend a new voting machine system for the county to the Board of Commissioners.

Wednesday, residents had the opportunity to check out the three potential options county officials will choose from at an event in Pittsboro’s Agriculture and Conference Center.

Vickie Shea, a 14-year county resident and member of the League of Women Voters, said she had been following the recent decisions around voting systems in North Carolina and was there to see the machines in action.

“We’ve been following this issue of voting machines for quite a while, have attended the state board meetings and the local board meetings and wanted to have a chance to see the machines in all of their details and complexity,” She said.

The Director of Chatham’s Board of Elections Pandora Paschal was at the event as well. She said the board will meet Thursday to debate over the three voting systems presented, and that it is possible they might finalize their recommendations for the county commissioners.

The three voting systems are made by companies Clear Ballot, ES&S and Hart InterCivic.

Shea said her preferred method of voting is with pen and paper, like she use to do when she was younger. But after reviewing the options on show Wednesday, she said she felt a lot better about the new voting machines.

“It’s clear that all of the vendors take election security seriously, although the ways they approach that are different,” She said. “So it’s important to talk to each of them.”

Thursday’s Board of Elections meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the board office on Thompson Street in Pittsboro.

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