DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - Officials for Miami-Dade County got to work breaking in some new voting machines that they say will be ready to be used by the public in this year’s election cycle.
Officials in Doral spent the last few days putting the new machines to the test.
“For the big four in November, we’re ready to go, and we’ll be ready to go for the midterm elections,” said Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Alina García
The county upgraded from the previously used DS-200 models to the newer DS-300. It’s the first upgrade to the county’s machines in 15 years.
“After 15 years, we have changed our DS-200s to the DS-300s. It’s important to replace machines, because 15-year-old technology becomes obsolete and, of course, there is no parts anymore for these machines, so we needed to change them,” said García.
García said the new machines will be ready to go in several cities just in time for November’s election.
“In November, we’re going to have the City of Miami, the City of Miami Beach, the City of Homestead and the City of Hialeah,” said García.
Officials said the new machines offer faster scanning, enhanced security and improved accessibility, all while still allowing a voter to use a paper ballot.
“These machines have a new capability, and they can take a picture of the ballot. It will generate, like, a computer card, so everything that we do, we do on paper, which is the way that Floridians like it, and it’s the way that the Legislature tells us to vote,” said García.
Voters will also have a digital option with another new machine, known as the “ExpressVote.”
“This would be a screen where you vote on,” said García.
The ExpressVote is generally used by voters with impairments, offering a controller in Braille and headphones for audio assistance, but it can be used by any voter in a finely tuned process.
“We have two machines. We have the DS-300s, which is the machine that counts the ballots; the ExpressVote, we have 900 of those machines, and you can vote on those machines, and then when you’re done voting, the ballot, which is like a computer card, you insert into the DS-300, and the DS-300 will capture the image,” said García.
Each new machine has been put through several trial runs.
Election officials said everything has gone off without a hitch, with the results being uploaded quickly and with no errors.
“We’re very happy that everything is functioning properly,” said García.
As a reminder, voters are given up to three ballots if a mistake is made on one.
The ExpressVote machines will be brought to community events to allow voters opportunities to familiarize themselves with how to operate the machine ahead of the November election.
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