The Bryan County Elections Office is partnering with the Office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to bring the “Secure the Vote” trailer to Richmond Hill and Pembroke on Friday.

“With the Presidential Preference Primary 11 weeks away, my office is driving our Secure the Vote trailer to several counties offering voters a hands-on experience with the new system before early voting starts in two months,” said Raffensperger, who launched Secure the Vote Dec. 5.

“Bryan County is home to many of our military families stationed at Fort Stewart, located in the middle of the county, and is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Area, one of Georgia’s largest cities.”

The Secure the Vote trailer’s scheduled stops in Bryan County on Friday are as follows:

• 9 a.m. to noon, Bryan County Administrative Complex, 66 Capt. Matthew Freeman Drive, Richmond Hill

• 1-5 p.m., Bryan County Courthouse, 151 S. College St., Pembroke Secretary of State elections staff and voting ambassadors will also be available to answer general questions about using the machines.

Secure the Vote is an inclusive, broad-based education initiative effort to show people in all walks of life, in every corner of the state, what to expect when they begin voting in 2020 from the paper-ballot system. Georgia is replacing all its first-generation electronic voting machines with the paper-ballot system, the largest rollout of voting equipment in U.S. history, according to a press release.

Voters make their choices by pressing a touchscreen before printing their ballot where they can confirm their selections before casting the ballot at the ballot box. The paper ballots can be audited and recounted.

Paper ballots will be used across the state in the March 24 Presidential Preference Primary. Their first use in Georgia was during the November 2019 municipal elections in six pilot counties. They are also being used for Special Elections in January for vacancies in the General Assembly both in House District 171 and Senate District 13.

Secure the Vote operates a website with information about the new system and a short video demonstration at SecureVoteGA.com. It also has a team of voter education coordinators fanned out across the state conducting demonstrations at faith-based organizations, civic clubs and other gatherings.

The Secretary of State is Georgia’s chief election officer and has the mission to help ensure secure and accurate elections. County election officials run the actual elections and handle voter registration.