This page summarizes changes in procedures for the June 2022 Democratic Party Primary.
Each precinct has been assigned 5 to 7 election officers, including the Chief, Assistant Chief, 2 Collector Officers, any Language Officers, and regular officers.
(In co-located polling places with two precincts, only one precinct will be assigned Collector Officers. They will be responsible for collecting absentee ballot envelopes and other election materials from both precincts and then driving them to the Fairfax County Government Center.)
We continue working with county staff, health professionals, and the Virginia Department of Elections to refine our COVID-19 measures.
Based on county guidance, there is currently no face mask or social distancing requirement. Election officers may choose to wear a mask but are not required to do so.
We will provide each precinct with:
The sneeze guards should be set up at the check-in table, ballot table, and Chief’s table where practicable. The masks, sanitizer, and wipes are available to you and voters as needed. You may recirculate pens and privacy folders.
Ballots packaged in shrink-wrapped packs of 100 will be delivered to precincts in the gray cart. Ballots are no longer padded or stubbed. Election officers must count opened packs of ballots before issuing them to voters.
We have purchased and issued new Poll Pads to all precincts. You will notice that they now come in individual cases along with the base, ID holder, and charger.
The software is the same and the process of checking in a voter is the same. During the day, the only difference you will notice is the new devices are faster!
At the end of the day, you will not power off the Poll Pads. Instead, you will keep the devices powered on and place them back in their case. This will help us more quickly import all voter check-ins after voting ends.
(Each precinct will also receive one additional iPad for the Chief’s use only. This iPad will not contain the voter file and cannot be used to check in voters. This iPad’s main screen looks different and it will only be used to access an electronic provisional ballot log.)
You will only set up one DS200 scanner and one ExpressVote on election day. This will make things simpler during closing procedures - you will only need to print one set of tapes and you will not need to add numbers from multiple tapes.
Be prepared to set up your backup, if needed. If you power on your second DS200, you must follow the full closing procedures after polls close on both scanners, including printing out all tapes, even if no ballots were scanned.
(During closing procedures, you will still remove and return USB flash drives from all DS200s, even if one was not opened.)
PRECINCT DATA SHEET: Throughout the day, an officer will use this form to ensure the number of voters checked in on the Poll Pads matches the number of ballots cast on the DS200 scanner. Also, as you open each pack of ballots, you will count and record the number of ballots on this form.
ELECTION NIGHT NUMBERS SHEET: During closing procedures, an officer will use this form to record the number of provisional voters and curbside voters. These numbers must be submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections on election night, so Collector Officers will bring this form with other election materials when they drive to the Fairfax County Government Center. You will no longer need to call in these or any other numbers.
PRECINCT RESULTS NOTICE: During closing procedures, an officer will use this form to post voting results at the entrance of your polling place. Instead of having to transcribe the voting results from printed tapes onto a separate form, you will now simply staple opening and closing tapes from each DS200 to this form and post it at the door.
As a reminder, the June 2022 primary election is the first election after we completed the every-10-years process of redistricting, or adjusting precincts based on new census data.
You can read more information about the impacts of redistricting in Fairfax County here: https://training.electionofficers.com/redistricting/
The Electoral Board appointed a new General Registrar and Director of Elections, Eric Spicer, in March 2022.
You may know Eric as he has served as our Election Manager for the past 5 years. Before that, he spent 21 years as the City of Alexandria’s election administrator.
If you have any questions, contact us at ElectionOfficers@fairfaxcounty.gov or 703-324-4735 (8:00 AM to 4:30 PM).
Thanks for being a Fairfax County election officer!