MACON, Ga. — It's almost moving day for the Bibb County Board of Elections.
County officials are planning to move into their new home at the old Macon Mall by the end of next week.
13WMAZ's Jessica Cha shows you how the move could make your voting experience better-- just in time for the 2024 election.
The Macon Board of Elections moved to their building in 2016. Thomas Gillon was here to see it.
‘The fact that I've been here since 2013. 2016 for this office,” he says.
Gillon says he's grown with the Board of Elections. He started as a poll worker, and now he's elections supervisor.
The Board of Elections grew too.
“We've run out of space here,” Gillon says. “With the older voting equipment, we had all the room we needed, but when they changed the equipment over in 2020, it was a lot more equipment than we could keep.”
Gillon says voters have also outgrown this place.
“We've had the line circling the building before,” he says.
Lines of people outside in the heat, cold, and rain.
“They can line up in the mall where it's climate controlled and air conditioned and heated as needed,” Gillon laughs.
Four major elections are coming next year, and the board has already started moving their things to the new location. Secure information and machines will move last.
Frequent mall goer, Antonio Jenkins, says the location is perfect.
“I feel a lot better about it because it's easily accessible,” he says. “People are always over here verses being on Pio Nono.”
Jenkins says not everyone has transportation which discourages voting.
“This gives you a reason to not have an excuse not to vote," he said.
Shacor Brinson says the new location also gives a chance to grow the mall again, too.
“If they bring back the stores and make the Macon Mall historical, make it back how it was–it'll be way more accessible,” Brinson says.
Gillon says growing is necessary.
“I'll miss this building for a while, but I really like the new space. Everybody has a little more room in there, so I'm looking forward to it,” he said.
The Superior Court, Planning and Zoning, and even a new library branch are all set to move into the mall as well.
There are also new plans underway for the old Board of Elections building on Pio Nono Avenue.
Macon-Bibb Planning and Zoning is set to hear a request from a company that wants to put in an office and warehouse space at the property that specializes in shower doors, closet shelving systems and bath hardware.
Rather than a normal retail store front aimed at traditional customers, they say they'll focus on large commercial customers and developers.