Georgia Voting System Frequently Asked Questions:

Meet Democracy Suite (D-Suite)
Q: Why is the State of Georgia replacing its
current voting system?
The Georgia State Legislature approved the
purchase of a new, statewide voting system in
order to replace aging, paperless election
equipment dating back to 2002. The new system
offers Peach State voters more modern, up-todate technology with important security and
transparency features. The new system will also
produce a paper ballot to allow for verification and
auditing of election results.
Q: How does the new voting system work?
The Dominion Voting Democracy Suite (“DSuite”) system features a ballot-marking device
(BMD) that allows voters to verify their choices
made on a touchscreen tablet, before printing a
paper ballot and placing it into an optical scanner
for counting. The paper ballots are used for
verifying and auditing results. The nextgeneration system also offers enhanced audit
capabilities for security, as well as features to
improve the voter experience.
Q: What is the plan for installing the new
system for use in Georgia elections?
The state is taking a phased-in approach, with a
county pilot program for the November 2019
municipal election cycle. Statewide system
replacement will be completed for the March 24,
2020 Presidential Preference Primary.

Q: How did the state choose the system?
Georgia’s Secure, Accessible, and Fair Elections
(SAFE) Commission presented a report to the
state legislature in January 2019, which used the
expert recommendations to adopt a new law for
the state’s voting system purchase. The
procurement process was overseen by the
Georgia Department of Administrative Services
and handled the same way as other competitive
bids. An evaluation committee scored each
applicant based on an appraisal of cost and ability
to meet the state’s voting system specifications,
which included accuracy, security, auditability,
and ease of use for poll managers and voters.
Dominion Voting Systems had the highest overall
score and was awarded the contract.
Q: Why is this the best system for Georgia?
Ballot marking devices (BMDs) offer reliability
and assurance, balancing the need for both
security and accessibility in the voting process.
BMDs have proven to reduce the rate of
undervotes, overvotes and stray-marked votes in
elections. They can specifically alert voters if they
have skipped or missed a ballot selection,
ensuring that all voting choices are complete. The
system also provides full accessibility for people
with disabilities and/or language or literacy
challenges, allowing all voters to privately and
independently cast a ballot using the same
system. BMDs also produce paper ballots for
auditing and reduce paper volumes overall.

Q: How much does the new system cost,
and what does the purchase include?

Q: Where can I learn more about the system?

The system cost is approximately $90 million.
The contract includes voting system hardware,
software, implementation, training and support
for the new statewide system.

The Secretary of State’s office will begin by
conducting public demonstrations around the
state, with additional county voter outreach
opportunities in the fall. A full schedule will be

 available on the Georgia Secretary of State’s
website as soon as possible: https://sos.ga.gov/.
Q: What are the general system components?
Democracy Suite (“D-Suite”) includes:
 ImageCastX Ballot Marking Device (ICX/
BMD): A universal voting device with
accessible options, the ICX BMD operates
with a printer that produces a paper ballot.
 ImageCast Precinct Polling Place Scanner
(ICP/PPS): Allows ballots to be scanned,
capturing ballot images for auditing/review.
Q: How is the new system secured?
The D-Suite system will enable Georgia to defend
against cyber threats and deliver reliable election
results which can be audited using paper ballots.


Like the existing voting machines, the new
machines do not connect to the Internet,
which limits cybersecurity risks. They also
create an auditable paper ballot, with other
enhanced review capabilities for the public.



Dominion’s product security protocols meet
or exceed federal U.S. Election Assistance
Commission Voluntary Voting System
Requirements (VVSGs).



D-Suite has significant upgrades to help
protect against cyber threats, including use
of encryption, multi-factor authentication
and role-based access controls.

Q: What if I’m concerned about computerprinted ballots with bar codes?
Most tabulation systems that count paper ballots
currently use a barcode to accurately and
efficiently count each vote. The Dominion BMD
also produces a human-readable ballot summary
for voter verification. Plus, election officials test
and affirm the security of the system prior to every
election, as well as during post-election audits.
While voters can be confident in the ability of the
BMD system to ensure trustworthy and accurate
election results, Dominion will be working with the
Secretary of State’s office to address perceived
concerns regarding use of marked ballots that
feature barcodes. For example, the state can
make scanned images of all ballots cast in
statewide elections available, allowing anyone to
do a ballot count to check the accuracy of results.