ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — An equipment malfunction at an Albany polling place had election workers relying on backup procedures for some time on Election Day.

A ballot scanner went down at the Sherwood Elementary School voting location some time Tuesday morning (Nov. 3), according to Ginger Nickerson, Dougherty County elections supervisor. During this time, poll workers directed people to put their ballots into an emergency backup bin so people could continue casting ballots without interruption.

According to the elections office, the precinct manager notified election officials that the ballot scanner was not functioning properly. The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office was also notified of the issue, and an election technician immediately repaired the equipment.

The elections office emphasizes its commitment to following established election procedures and ensuring that ballots are properly handled and accounted for throughout the voting process.

“The good thing about the emergency bin, it is a backup to the equipment in case the equipment fails,” Nickerson said. “We do encourage those voters, if they did place their ballot in the emergency bin, to come back to the precinct at 7 p.m. and watch the ballot be scanned.”

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Nickerson said voters have been casting ballots across all 23 precincts in Dougherty County since polls opened at 7 a.m., with turnout building slowly throughout the morning.

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Voter turnout in Dougherty County historically trends about the same between advanced in-person voting and Election Day, Nickerson said. Only about two of the 23 precincts are projected to see more than 1,000 voters.

Nickerson said that there are about six forms of state-issued identification, including a military ID, gun permit, or a public college ID that are accepted at polling locations.

“The only acceptable expired identification is a Georgia’s driver’s license. I repeat, a Georgia’s driver’s license cannot be a Georgia identification card. But if the driver’s license is expired and it’s Georgia, it is acceptable. All other forms of identification must be valid,” Nickerson said.

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Anyone voting by absentee ballot must return it by 7 p.m. Tuesday for it to be counted.

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