Fairfax County Voters Can Take New Machines For a Test Run

The Fairfax County Office of Elections is offering voters a chance to check out new voting machines to replace aging models.

The new machines will offer ease of use as well as accessibility for people with disabilities and for voters for whom English is not their primary language, said electoral board secretary Brian Schoeneman.

Want to go for a test drive? Here are two nearby opportunities on Friday Feb. 21:

• Tysons Corner Center Mall, 2 to 4 p.m., Third floor food court
• Reston Community Center Hunters Woods, 6:45 to 8:30 p.m., lobby.

No advance notice or reservations are necessary.

“We have some critical decisions to make this year on purchasing new voting machines for our citizens,” Schoeneman says. “This is a rare opportunity to provide voters with a chance to test drive different voting machines and give input on what voting equipment will provide them with the best and most secure voting experience.”

After long waits in the 2012 Presidential Election, the county assembled a bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission.  The commission issued its report last March, finding fault with aging Direct Electronic Recording Devices (DRE) machines.

The commission recommended that the county go to one system throughout the county, preferably one with electronically scanned ballots with an integrated system fully accessible to voters with disabilities.