COLUMBIA, S.C. — With Election Day just 47 days away, the South Carolina State Election Commission has introduced a new system aimed at speeding up the process of scanning ballots and delivering results on election night.
The DS300, a new scanner, is the Commission’s upgrade for the 2024 election. The scanner is designed to gather results quickly and provide a smoother experience for poll workers.
“We’ve advanced to the greatest and latest scanners,” said TJ Lundeen, Director of Public Information for the State Election Commission, who explained the new scanner's benefits.
Lundeen said that while the voting process for the public will remain unchanged, the new scanners will deliver results faster.
"It is a smaller device so in the actual polling places you will see it as a little bit smaller, and it's better for clerks and poll workers who are there in the office. It sets up faster, it scans ballots faster, it gives results quicker, so we're seeing this as a complete enhancement."
Lundeen said that this system will improve the efficiency of Election Day without changing the voting process for users.
“It’s like going from the iPhone 15 to 16 — it looks the same, works the same, but it’s faster internally, most things you don't really see as the user,” Lundeen said.
“That’s great, I mean new ideas are good. In November, when we go to vote, we can check it out and see," said voter Reginald Davis.
Early voting begins Monday, October 27th.