Bergen early voting begins Saturday, as new voting machines face general election test

Kristie Cattafi, NorthJersey.com

Bergen County voters can head to the polls beginning Saturday as early voting gets underway ahead of the Nov. 7 election day. However, voters who skipped the June primaries will be encountering new electronic voting machines for the first time.

The new machines have replaced the 30-year-old ones that far exceeded their lifespan, said Superintendent of Elections and Commissioner of Registration Debra Francica.

The new machines were rolled out in June for the primary, where 29,763 or 4.5 percent of all registered voters used the electronic ballot machines.

Bergen early voting sites

Early in-person voting begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at nine locations in Bergen County and runs through Nov. 5.

  • Fort Lee: Jack Alter Community Center 1344 Inwood Terrace

  • Garfield: Rescue Engine Company #3 159 Gaston Ave.

  • Hackensack: County Administration Building 1 Bergen County Plaza

  • Paramus: Bergen Community College 400 Paramus Rd.

  • River Vale: Community Center 628 Rivervale Rd.

  • Teaneck: Richard Rodda Center 250 Colonial Court

  • Woodcliff Lake: Tice Senior Center 411 Chestnut Ridge Road

  • Wood-Ridge: Senior Center meeting activity room 495 Highland Avenue

  • Wyckoff: Senior Center main room 380 Goldwin Avenue.

How the new voting machines work

A look at the new electronic voting machines.
A look at the new electronic voting machines.

On Nov. 7 or during the early voting period, Bergen County voters who choose to vote in person will continue to check in on an electronic poll pad.

They will then receive an encoded voter card that will have to be inserted into the ballot-marking device to make their ballot selections on a large touchscreen tablet.

After voters complete and review their ballot, they will print it out and, as the final step, scan it into the tabulator to cast their vote.

Hundreds of poll workers have been trained on the new equipment, and to date, officials have said there have been no complaints or issues tabulating results.

The Bergen County Board of County Commissioners approved a $15 million bond ordinance in April to pay for the 1,200 ballot-marking devices and 650 tabulators.

Other counties have also been replacing their voting machines. Passaic County purchased new equipment for $11 million in 2021.

When Bergen County bought the AVC Advantage equipment in the 1990s from Sequoia Pacific Voting Equipment (the company was purchased by Dominion in 2010), it was projected to have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years.

To prepare, the county spent the summer preparing a video in three languages that show step by step ways to vote, Superintendent of Elections and Commissioner of Registration Debra Francica said.

The video was posted on social media and posted on the county's website. It was also sent to all 70 municipalities, the Bergen County League of Women Voters, as well as to the Bergen County Administration, our Bergen County Senior Centers and both the Bergen County Democrat and Republican organizations for their websites.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County early voting begins Saturday. See locations

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