DeKalb County voters will not have to worry about any voting scandals with Chads and Dimples this year.

Unlike the world famous Chad and Dimples voting procedure that made the Bush-Gore election infamous, DeKalb County implements a voting measure similar to taking a Scantron test.

Choosing a candidate for DeKalb County voters will be simple because an optical-scan vote system is more accurate than the punch-card vote system used in the past, said DeKalb County Clerk Sharon Holmes.

Holmes explained that voters in DeKalb County will have plenty of opportunities to check their votes.

“It’s more voter-friendly; you don’t have to guess about punching,” Holmes said.

DeKalb County has used the system based on pencil shadings for about two years. Holmes had no idea why other states and counties still use the old system.

If a voter in DeKalb votes for too many candidates, the penciled- in form will shoot back out of the scanning machine and the voter can re-vote on a fresh ballot.

Holmes said voters will use a No. 2 pencil to shade in the circle in front of the candidate they wish to vote for. Following completion of the ballot, the voters then will feed their own ballots into the machine.

“We are expecting about a 65-percent voter turnout this year,” she said.

She added that it is important for students to apply for absentee ballots from their home county as soon as possible to avoid missing the opportunity to vote altogether.