BY MARK HENSCH 04/17/17

Voting machines were reported stolen a day before Georgia’s special congressional election, according to a new report.

The equipment was stolen last Saturday evening from a Cobb County precinct manager’s vehicle, Channel 2 Action News said Monday. He did not immediately report the theft.

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“It is unacceptable that the Cobb County Elections Office waited two days to notify my office of this theft,” Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in a statement.

“We have opened an investigation, and we are taking steps to ensure that it has no effect on the election tomorrow. I am confident that the results will not be compromised.”

Action News said the four so-called ExpressPoll machines taken are computers poll workers use for checking-in voters and checking off those who cast ballots.

Cobb County Elections Director Janine Eveler said information on the machines is “hard to access,” adding that they cannot be used to fraudulently vote in Tuesday’s election.

Eveler said Cobb County will replace the devices at its Piedmont Road precinct before voters cast their ballots.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday for a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Price, a Republican, won his seat in 2016 in the conservative district by more than 20 points before joining the administration.

Democrats are casting the race as a referendum on Trump and his administration’s policies, with the party hoping to turn the reliably-red Georgia blue this year.

Georgia is holding an all-party special election in which any candidate can win the seat outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

If no candidate reaches that threshold, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers in June.

Jon Ossoff is the clear Democratic favorite in Georgia, with some experts believing Tuesday is his best chance at winning should voters fail to coalesce around one Republican in a crowded field