ROANOKE, Va – All eyes are on Virginia as statewide races in the upcoming election gain national attention. This means those working the polls are working to make sure each vote is secure and properly counted
“When the ballot is actually approved by the Department of Elections, ballots are received here the physical security of that is prompt consideration for us,” Roanoke City Director of Elections Andrew Cochran said.
Cochran says their polling machines got security upgrades this summer to help ensure more safety at the polls.
“Everything is tested and retested before election which most people don’t see we do test every single machine and then we have a set of test ballots to ensure that they are tabulating the way mark their ballot,” Cochran said.
Political candidates are also weighing in on election integrity. Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has spoken about election integrity throughout his campaign. President Joe Biden even weighed in while campaigning for Terry McAuliffe earlier this week.
“This guy starts and he’s calling for election integrity, election integrity? Why would he do that? Because he wanted to hear from Donald Trump?” Biden said.
But Youngkin says he trusts the department of elections.
“I do. I’ve said all along I think that I think we’re going to have a fair election we’re doing our work we’ve got tons of volunteers participating in the election process,” Republican Candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin said.
Still, voting officials say Virginians have an increased interest in how their ballots get counted.
“A lot of people are interested in serving as election officers because of their curiosity about that and so I think we’re able to answer most people’s questions it becomes more complicated and more complex so we tried to speak to the levels of security so that people can understand that better,” Cochran said.
Early voting is set to end in Virginia this Saturday. Polls open Tuesday, November 2 at 6 AM.