ORLANDO, Fla. — Tuesday's elections are a big first test for new, more efficient voting machines in Orange County.

Polls opened Tuesday across Central Florida for several key races on election day and will remain open until 7 p.m. Voters in line before 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballots.

In Orange County, voters have several key decisions, including who should lead the city of Orlando as mayor.

“We’ll be opening 68 locations for voters to go vote and they’ll get their chance to use the new machine,” Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said. “This is the largest election under the new equipment, since they were certified by the state. So, that’s why we’ve got people here wanting to see how this election goes.”

Voters at one of the Orange County locations Spectrum News 13 visited about midday Tuesday said that even though some of the candidates were a little new to them, casting their ballots was simple and felt efficient.

“It’s the easiest it’s been since 1972 because the way they have it set up it’s really easy,” Orange County voter Clara Foster said.

Cowles said the new equipment is at least partially responsible for that.

“We’re warming up and getting ready (for next year), so we’ve got this election, which is larger than our municipal election day back in March," Cowles said. "We look forward to the presidential preference primary, which will get a little larger, then we’ll get to the presidential primary a year from now, which will be the largest ever.”

Positions at stake for voters in Orlando include mayor and two commissioner races for districts 4 and 6. And for some voters in Orange and Osceola counties, they will decide who will hold State House District 35 seat.

Early voting ended on Sunday, and as of Sunday morning, only about 31,000 of nearly 800,000 registered voters in Orange County took advantage of early voting. 

Cowles said it’s disappointing voter turnout is even less than what he budgeted, though he believes voter mistrust and it being a non-presidential election played a role in low turnout.

“We have to make predictions about what turnout will be, so it is a little frustrating when the turnout falls below the expectation,” he said. “Hopefully we get back to a trusted voting environment and we’re not spending so much time on the disinformation, the misinformation and the propaganda, and we can actually have a trusted system that people can trust in.”

Florida’s requirement of having voters cast their votes on paper ballots gives a record of proof that ensures the accuracy and legitimacy of votes.

“We audit after every election to make sure the tabulations went the way it was supposed to in terms of the software, so we’ve got those checks and balances because we have that paper — and that’s the trusted thing,” Cowles said.

Cowles said no matter what the election is or what voters are deciding, the biggest challenge in the years to come will be to make sure voters know the election process can be trusted.

He mentioned another challenge moving forward is accommodating a continuously growing population in Orange County. That’s why he’s in the process of adding precinct locations, specifically in the growing Lake Nona area, to be ready for upcoming elections.

After nearly 35 years with the office, 27 as supervisor, Cowles is overseeing the first of several key elections in the next year before he retires from his post, including the 2024 presidential election. He says experienced staff in the office isn’t going anywhere.

“I’m leaving behind an elections team that has over 390 years of elections administration experience,” he said.