Washington County using new voting machines for Tuesday’s primary

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Voters in Washington County will be using new touch-screen voting machines during Tuesday’s primary election.

Allegheny County chose to delay using the new machines due to the coronavirus.

The news machines replace older model touch screens and include a paper trail of each vote.

Voters who go to the polls will see an increased effort to sanitize equipment and enforce social distancing.

There will be signs on the floors telling people where to go along with sanitizing wipes and bottles.

The machines will also be wiped with alcohol and lint-free cloths.

Voters will also get a Q-tip that they can use to touch the machines instead of using their fingers.

Election officials expect a good turnout Tuesday despite the number of mail-in ballots they’ve received.

“We have received back over 13,000 and we received 12 mail trays of ballots this morning,” said Melanie Ostrander, director of elections for Washington County.

All of the mail-in ballots are stored in a locked room to keep them safe.

Channel 11 will have complete Election Day coverage on television and at www.wpxi.com including updated results once polls close.

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