Virginia: Arlington Voting Machines Will Be Discussed with State Elections Chief | Sun Gazette Newspapers

The future of voting machines in the county will be among the topics of discussion when State Board of Elections Secretary Don Palmer meets with staff and officials of the Arlington registrar’s office on June 15.

County election officials say they are generally satisfied with the current crop of electronic voting machines that are in use alongside paper-ballot options in Arlington elections, but have also begun looking at new-generation equipment to deal with voting in the 2012 presidential election.

Because of the large turnout in presidential years - 110,000 Arlington voters cast ballots in 2008 - Arlington election officials rent voting equipment for those years, and have starting making contact with equipment manufacturers to find the best fit for the county.

Virginia: City of Bedford Virginia, Justice Department reach consent decree on section of Voting Rights Act | The Republic

The Justice Department and the city of Bedford have reached agreement on a vestige of the segregated South — federal oversight of its local elections.

Justice officials announced Thursday they have filed a consent decree in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia that would free the city of 6,222 from government approval of any election changes.

The election oversight is part of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted in 1965 to address widespread election abuses intended to deny African-Americans the vote.

Virginia: The cost of voting in Virginia to go up | WTOP.com

The cost of voting has just gone up, big time, in some Virginia localities and the reaction is one of surprise.

The redistricting plan for both the state House and Senate approved by the General Assembly will create a large number of split voting precincts in Northern Virginia. Local governments will foot the bill for adding new voting machines and poll watchers, and for notifying voters when those changes take place. County governments could have to cut elsewhere to make up for the increased cost.

Virginia: State weighs in on Montgomery County Virginia vote flap | Roanoke.com

The state board of elections wants Montgomery County election officials to have more training in using electronic poll books and provisional ballots to prevent a repeat of mishaps that occurred in November's elections.

The state board on Wednesday signed off on a letter censuring Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz and the three members of the county electoral board who were serving during the Nov. 2, 2010, election, when some voters were allowed to cast ballots without having their registration verified. The letter formalizes the state board's April 29 decision to issue a censure based on findings by the state attorney general's office.

Virginia: Montgomery County Virginia electoral officials meet with Attorney General’s office about voting irregularities | roanoke.com

The entire electoral leadership of Montgomery County met Tuesday with state investigators to discuss voting irregularities that took place nearly five months ago. State officials are trying to determine whether any laws were broken when normal voting procedures broke down in the Nov. 2 election.

As expected, investigators interviewed election officials Tuesday at the County Government Center. The meeting was closed to the public and press. It is not known when a decision will be announced. The State Board of Elections asked for an investigation after poll workers in several precincts — hampered by laptops that would not boot up with electronic poll books — let some 700 Montgomery County residents vote before it could be determined they were registered and in the correct precinct.