Bergen County voters will find new voting machines at Tuesday's primary election
Bergen County voters will find new electronic voting machines when they head to the polls on Tuesday for the state's primary election.
The new machines have replaced the 30-year-old ones that far exceeded their lifespan, said Superintendent of Elections and Commissioner of Registration Debra Francica.
The Bergen County Board of County Commissioners approved a $15 million bond ordinance in April to pay for the 1,200 ballot-marking devices and 650 tabulators.
Other counties have also been replacing their voting machines. Passaic County purchased new equipment for $11 million in 2021.
When Bergen County bought the AVC Advantage equipment in the 1990s from Sequoia Pacific Voting Equipment (the company was purchased by Dominion in 2010), it was projected to have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, Francica said.
The new machines are the same as those used in the last three early voting elections and special school elections since November 2021.
About 38,000 of the state's 668,000 registered voters have already used the new machines. In March they were used by voters in school elections for Bogota, Hillsdale, Saddle Brook and Maywood and by voters in April elections in Cliffside Park and Fairview. Lodi voters also used the new equipment in May for the municipal election.
How the new voting machines work
On Tuesday, Bergen County voters who choose to vote in person will continue to check in on an electronic poll pad.
They will then receive an encoded voter card that will have to be inserted into the ballot-marking device to make their ballot selections on a large touchscreen tablet.
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After voters complete and review their ballot, they will print it out and, as the final step, scan it into the tabulator to cast their vote.
Hundreds of poll workers have been trained on the new equipment, and to date, officials have said there have been no complaints or issues tabulating results.
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Over the summer the county's Board of Elections will work on a voter instruction video for all the municipalities to post on their websites. If municipalities want an in-person demonstration, election officials said that can be arranged.
"We are also working on a program for the schools to introduce Bergen County students to this new voting equipment in the fall," Francica said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County voters will find new voting machines on Tuesday
