ATLANTA - Georgia voters who are afraid of the dark should have nothing to worry about when they cast ballots in the Nov. 5 general election.
Every precinct throughout the state will be full of night lights.
The 8,000 lights mailed out last week will help poll workers ensure that all the equipment is plugged in as Georgia becomes the first state to hold its elections exclusively on computers.
When electricity is flowing through the machines, the night lights will illuminate, said Secretary of State Cathy Cox, whose office oversees Georgia's elections and the new $54 million computer voting system.
The night lights don't run on the computer's internal battery power, so poll workers will known immediately if a machine isn't connected to a power outlet. An unplugged machine will function for only six to eight hours, said Ms. Cox, a Democrat who is up for re-election this year.
If computers start dying toward the end of the day, lines could become long because many people tend to leave work and head to the polls after 5 p.m., Ms. Cox said.
"We have tried to go overboard in preparation for this," she said.
In addition to the night lights, the state sent out 3,000 micro-screwdrivers.
The tiny equipment will be used to change batteries in voter-card encoding machines if a battery fails. The machine cleans each voter's computer ID card, placing the appropriate blank ballot onto the card.
Despite the safeguards, some people say Georgia's switch to computer voting came too quickly, without enough planning, and is an overreaction to voting problems during elections in Florida.
"I contend it's going to take two to three times as long to have elections in November because they chose to go electronic," said Charlie Bailey, the Republican candidate running against Ms. Cox. "The secretary of state's office has spent $54 million under the guise of having elections that are honest. That will not happen."
In recent weeks, the state sent out a step-by-step brochure to Georgia residents, explaining the computer voting process.
Delores Johnson, a 21-year-old cell phone sales clerk from Atlanta, said she expects human error to cause some delays.
However, she is looking forward to voting by computer.
"I think it's just easier," she said.
Reach Brian Basinger at (404) 589-8424 or mnews@mindspring.com.
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