County election commissioners have carted off old lever voting machines to make room for 56 new touch-screen machines.
Workers with Diebold Election Systems Inc. arrived Thursday morning at the American Legion Hut to unpack and test Leflore County's touch-screen voting machines.
The new machines bring Leflore County into compliance with the Help American Vote Act, which was passed by Congress to make voting more accessible to citizens.
The county opted for Secretary of State Eric Clark's plan earlier this year, which provided the machines through Diebold for no cost.
In the Leflore County courthouse, Diebold workers set up the database that will tally election results.
Circuit Clerk Trey Evans and election commissioners supervise and run all elections in the county.
Evans expects one of the machines will be set up in the court house so people can stop by and check it out.
The first election on the touch-screen machines will be in June when voters will select candidates for judicial seats.
Evans is glad to be rid of the 30-year-old lever machines. The cost of repairing them kept growing, he said. "Every time we moved them, another part fell off."
High schools will still have access to the old machines for various elections.
Deveda Dillon, District 1 election commissioner, said there are no extra machines, but 56 are more than enough.
Dillon expects some difficulties adjusting to the machines at first. Polling places likely will start using one or two machines more than usual to expedite voting. "It will be a learning process," she said.
The lightweight and portability of the machines impresses her. When asked if she will miss the old lever machines, Dillon smiled. "No, not all."
