Test out Travis County’s new voting machines before November election

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In November, Travis County voters will be using new voting equipment, and officials want to make sure people are familiar with it before election day.

The Travis County Clerk’s office is holding at least 10 events it’s dubbed “Meet the New Voting System,” according to Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir.

“I am excited to invite voters to come out and take a look at the voting equipment, and even try out demonstration machines so that they are more comfortable when they come to the polls for the November election,” DeBeauvoir said.

• County officials roll out and pay for new voting machines after inaction from Congress

Travis County approved more than 2,000 new touch-screen voting machines with a price tag of $9 million and 450 ballot boxes. The biggest change with this system is that the Election Systems and Software voting machine ExpressVote will print out a hard-paper copy of a ballot for the voter to verify before putting into the ballot box.

This is the first time Travis County has updated its machines in 18 years.

Williamson County is also getting new machines and held similar events to introduce the new equipment to the public. Hays County is also using new voting machines this election.

Election day is Nov. 5, but early voting begins Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 1. People need to make sure they are registered to vote by Oct. 7. Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day.