Northampton Supervisors Approve Purchase of Next-Generation Voting Machines

Northampton County is moving forward with the purchase of a new generation of voting machines, with Registrar Terry Flynn telling the Board of Supervisors the upgraded equipment will improve security, meet future state requirements and position the county for years of reliable elections.

During a Tuesday night’s board work session, Flynn requested approval to purchase the new voting system through a sole-source procurement, explaining that the manufacturer is the only company authorized to provide the specific voting equipment used in Virginia.

Supervisors approved the request after discussing the funding, security features, equipment lifespan and implementation schedule.

Flynn said the purchase was already included in the county’s budget.

The new system replaces voting machines that have been in service for 11 years and have successfully handled more than 25 elections.

“We’re using the same kind of machine, but this is the next generation,” Flynn said. “In a year or two, we’re going to have mandates from the state to do other things, security things with our machines. So this is ready to go.”

He explained that future security enhancements can be installed through software updates, eliminating the need to purchase entirely new equipment when state requirements change.

Flynn praised the performance of the county’s current voting equipment, saying the vendor has provided dependable support over the past decade.

“We’ve had these old machines…for 11 years and they’ve worked excellent,” Flynn said. “The company’s really good. We haven’t had any problem with those in the past.”

County officials hope to receive the new equipment during a break in the election calendar in August, allowing time for acceptance testing, training and certification before the November election.

The vendor will conduct initial testing and train Flynn, who will then train local election officers before the new system is placed into service.

Supervisors also asked what would happen to the existing voting machines once they are retired.

Flynn said state security requirements mandate that the hard drives be destroyed before the equipment is disposed of. He noted that when Northampton replaced voting machines in 2015, the hard drives were removed and dunked in saltwater before the machines themselves were crushed.

“It’s what’s mandated,” Flynn said. “We have to destroy a hard drive like that.”

Asked about the expected lifespan of the new equipment, Flynn said he hopes the county will get another decade or more of service.

“If we can get 11 good years out of these again, we’re looking really good,” he said, adding that the machines include warranties covering the hardware, firmware and software.

Near the end of the discussion, Supervisor Betsy Mapp asked Flynn whether he had concerns about illegal immigrants appearing on Northampton County’s voter rolls.

“I have zero concerns about that,” Flynn responded.

Flynn said voter registration applications are verified through multiple agencies, including the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He acknowledged that, over the years, a small number of voter registrations have required correction after individuals mistakenly indicated they were not U.S. citizens during DMV transactions.

He said those cases involved eligible voters who made errors during the registration process rather than ineligible individuals being added to the voter rolls.