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Election results take time despite electronic voting

Once you push the “cast ballot” button on your voting machine, your choices are copied to a memory card inside the machine. Then what? (Erica A. Hernandez/AJC)
By Mark Niesse
Nov 3, 2016

Why does it seem to take so long to count votes, even with Georgia’s electronic voting machines?

Sure, electronic votes are easier to count than old-fashioned paper ballots, but final results often don't come out until late at night.

There are a few reasons for delays: paper absentee ballots, rush-hour traffic and security procedures.

ExplorePlease read more about vote-counting on MyAJC.com.
Merle King, executive director for The Center for Election Systems at Kennesaw State University, explains how a touchscreen machine voters works on Oct. 20. BRANDEN CAMP/SPECIAL
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About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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