Fairfax, VA –The Fairfax County Office of Election has selected University Precinct (#134) to pilot new PollPad technology for the upcoming Presidential Primary Elections occurring next Tuesday, March 1, 2016. PollPads are iPads that contain voter registration records for Fairfax County. Officers of Election will use the PollPads at voter check-in to look up voters and admit them to vote. This technology is replacing paper pollbooks and the laptop pollbooks used at the last election.
Donald Garrett, the Chief Election Officer for the University Precinct, had the following to say: “I am thrilled and honored that the Office of Elections selected Mason students to pilot this new technology. Because most of our voters at this precinct are college-aged students, we are the precinct in the County that is probably the most comfortable with adapting to new technology. I received training on the PollPads last week and believe the interface is user-friendly and will allow the Election Officers to check voters in with ease.”
About Tuesday’s Election
Virginia is hosting a Presidential Primary Election for both the Republican and Democrat parties on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Because the Commonwealth has an open primary system, voters are not required to register with a political party prior to the election. When the voter checks-in at their precinct, they may choose to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. The Democrat ballot will contain three (3) candidates and the Republican ballot will contain thirteen (13) candidates; write-ins are not allowed. Although several campaigns have “suspended” their campaigns, many of those campaigns will still appear on the ballot because they were printed in January.
Virginia law requires voters to present a valid photo ID in order to vote. Students are encouraged to bring their Mason ID to the polls as this will be accepted. Please visit http://elections.virginia.gov/registration/photo-ids-required-to-vote/ for a list of other acceptable IDs.
About the University Precinct
The University Precinct (#134) was established in Fairfax County in Summer 2011. The boundaries of the precinct are the same as the boundaries of the main (East) Fairfax campus of George Mason University. Individuals must be registered to vote at their on-campus address to vote at this precinct. This is typically 4450 Rivanna River Way for students or a Masonvale address for faculty/staff.
Contact: Donald Garrett
Chief Election Officer, Precinct #134
dgarrett@masonlive.gmu.edu
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