Arlington’s new voting machines may be delayed in their selection and use

Arlington is currently on the hunt for its next-generation voting equipment. The question of when voters will be able use it is still open.

The Arlington Electoral Board members will begin the procurement process at the Virginia Electoral Boards Association’s annual meeting, which is being held at The Homestead from March 23-25.

This is a great way for officials to meet those who are eager to sell voting equipment in their county.

At the Arlington Electoral Board’s meeting on March 11,, Dominick Schirripa said, “They’re there, we’re there.”

Kim Phillip, secretary of the organization, said, “I have already received emails” from firms interested in joining.

Five companies are certified to supply voting equipment to Virginia’s localities. The three members of the Electoral Board will provide input to county elections staff to determine which vendors they should invite to Arlington to demonstrate their products.

County elections director Gretchen Reiemeyer stated that these local meetings could last between four and eight hours each.

Arlington made the last change to its equipment back in 2015. Hardware and software are typically replaced every 10 years.

Reinemeyer stated that while election officials expect to select a vendor before the end of this year, new equipment might not be purchased or used until state certification requirements have been implemented.

Arlington could be forced to spend a lot of money on an outdated system that is not compatible with the new regulations.

This is also the concern of election officials in Falls Church, which will delay a switch from ranked-choice voting to City Council until they can buy new equipment that meets state standards.

In 1950, Arlington switched from paper ballots to voting machines that operated by lever. Five successive systems have been purchased since then as technology and state requirements evolved.

A state mandate led to the purchase of a voting system in 2015. This brought back paper ballots. Voters scan the ballots into the election equipment.