ATLANTA — Two polling machines described as being used for voter check-in were stolen overnight at the Grove Park Recreation Center, ahead of a special election in the district for the Atlanta Board of Education.
Fulton County elections director Rick Barron said each machine contains data on every voter in Georgia. "It’s name, address and date of birth. Drivers license (numbers) are embedded in the file but they're not visible when you pull it up," Barron said. He says the two stolen machines are password-protected.
Investigators say two Express Poll 4000 machines were taken from the Grove Park Recreation Center polling place at 750 Frances Place NW in Atlanta.
"These express poll books are among the older, dated technology used alongside the current voting system," a statement from the Secretary of State's office explained. "They are used to check voters into their voting location."
Replacement express polls were sent to the site and the election will not be impacted, according to the Secretary of State's office.
The two machines were packaged inside a hardened rolling suitcase located inside the precinct. Atlanta police spokesman John Chaffee says in addition to the stolen machines, "the kitchen was ransacked" and that "a number of food items" were also stolen.
Barron said he thinks the machines were stolen by people who saw the suitcase but didn't know that a voter database was inside. "My guess is that whoever took that case had no idea what was inside it. It was just an easy thing to roll out," Barron said.
The Secretary of State's office said machines recently purchased to handle the 2020 election will include security upgrades.
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