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Take the new Voting System for a 'test drive'

Yuba County residents invited to “test drive” new voting system

Yuba County residents can get a good feel for the new touchscreen voting system they will be using during next year’s March Presidential Primary, as the county’s Election Office offers three opportunities this summer to take an updated voting booth for a “test drive.”

The open house-style events will showcase the new Democracy Suite Voting System, which gives voters the opportunity to mark ballots either electronically using a touchscreen system or use a more traditional paper ballot. Election staff will be on hand to answer questions to give residents the opportunity to try out the new system.   

Open houses are scheduled at the following locations:

  •  Tuesday, July 16, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wheatland Community Center, 101 C Street in Wheatland
  • Wednesday, July 31. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Board of Supervisors Chambers, 915 8th Street in Marysville.
  • Thursday, August 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Alcouffe Center, 9185 Marysville Road in Oregon House

“We want to give our voters a glimpse of the technology that will greet them at the voting precincts next year,” said Yuba County Clerk-Recorder Terry Hansen. “The touchscreen system is very user-friendly and designed to safeguard the integrity of each vote.”

The California Secretary of State recently decertified the widely-used Legacy Voting System that had been in place for several years, making it necessary for many county elections offices throughout the state to purchase new systems. Hansen said the required change gives her office the opportunity to make improvements to the voting booth experience.

In each voting booth, a touchscreen tablet will be just one method available for completing a ballot. After voting using the touchscreen, a paper ballot prints out, which the voter will then place in the ballot box. The computer system is designed to keep no record of votes that were cast. The electronic system also allows voting by way of an audio ballot.

Paper ballots will also be available for voters who prefer that method. The updated ballots will no longer use the connect-the-arrow approach. Instead, voters will only have to fill in a simple oblong hollow “bubble.”

More information about the new voting system and hands-on demos can be found online at www.yubaelections.org.