The following is an excerpt from an article at the huffingtonpost about a last minute change that could affect any recount after today’s vote:

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Roman Ashley Shaul granted a preliminary injunction directing counties to set voting machines “to preserve all digital ballot images.” The order was requested in a lawsuit filed last week on behalf of Alabama citizens demanding that voting records be protected.

“After hearing arguments and reviewing the filings, it appears that plaintiffs and similarly situated voters would suffer irreparable and immediate harm if digital ballot images are not preserved,” Shaul wrote. The judge cited “a reasonable belief that the results may be close.”

Digital ballot images are digitized versions of the paper ballots Alabamians fill out in the voting booth. It’s these scans that are counted, not the actual paper ballots, plaintiffs’ attorney Priscilla Duncan told AL.com, and they were going to be destroyed after the election, she said.

The following is an excerpt. Continue reading here: www.montgomeryadvertiser.com

“What we were asking for was not expensive and were not a major effort on the secretary of state’s part,” said Priscilla Duncan, attorney for the plaintiffs. “It’s part of the record. It’s very important because the paper records are not what’s counted. It’s the digital images that are what’s counted.”

Merrill said he does not comment on pending litigation but reiterated that the paper ballots for all federal elections are preserved for 22 months. “The ballots you vote on, which is the only thing you can do to have your vote count in Alabama, are preserved for 22 months after the election, secured under lock and key,” Merrill said.