We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
Rokey W. Suleman, executive director of the Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE), just got the third degree from reporters gathered in the lobby of One Judiciary Square, where the board’s offices are located. Reporters wanted to know if groups of District voters had been disenfranchised by Suleman’s fancy new voting machines, which have touch screens and optical scanners. Especially since there seems to have been a light voter turnout so far. But the director contended that things were going just fine. Only two of his machines needed to be replaced this morning, and only two precincts failed to open on time. As for the light voter turn out, it’s probably because “we had such a heavy turnout with early voting.” (More than 22,000 people voted early, equal to about 20 percent of the total turnout in the 2006 primary.)
Watch Suleman explain some of the problems his futuristic voting apparatus has encountered (like missing seals):