Long Island has new voting machines. Here's how to use them.

Residents in Nassau and Suffolk should have a more efficient experience casting a ballot as both counties this year have implemented a combined $57 million in upgrades to its voting machines.   

Board of Elections' officials over the last few months have trained thousands of poll workers, streamlined procedures and held several public demonstrations at libraries across Long Island showing voters how to cast their ballots using newly purchased machines. 

Nine days of early voting begins Saturday in New York in races for statewide offices like governor and attorney general as well as state Legislature seats. Contests for U.S. House of Representatives, Nassau County legislature, Suffolk County clerk and comptroller and various town and local offices, including judgeships, are also on the ballot. Turnout is expected to be higher in this year, particularly among suburban Democrats, according to polls, with both federal and local elections — and more candidates — on the ballot after a change in the state's election law. 

Election officials, particularly in Suffolk where new touchscreens replaced an aging paper ballot system, say despite some initial skepticism over the change, they are ready for this first widespread test of their new wares. 

"Don't be afraid, just come on down, you are going to love it and leave and say, 'Wow, that was a great experience,' " said Suffolk County Board of Elections Democratic poll trainer Karla Bryant when asked if she had a message to early voters.

There are 28 early voting sites in Suffolk County. 

Voting in Suffolk  

Last year, the Suffolk County legislature approved allocating $35 million to the county's Board of Elections to purchase thousands of ExpressVote XL models made by Election Systems and Software, which were first used during the June primary. Voters will go to their poll site and check in as they would in the past. Instead of being presented with a paper ballot with candidate names and ovals to fill in, they will receive a long, blank sheet with a barcode at the top to feed "like a dollar bill" into the side of a large touch screen.

The candidates' names will appear on the screen and voters can tap with the tip of their finger or knuckle to make their selection. When voters are finished, the names of their selected candidates will print on the sheet, which a voter can check before officially casting their ballot. All of this happens securely behind a privacy screen. Election workers say it cuts two steps in the old voting process and should help make for a quicker experience. 

"This eliminates going to a separate ballot station and having to go over to a privacy booth," said Lanette Rubino, Republican supervisor in the Suffolk County BOE's training department. "You can then just go in, insert the ballot into the machine, make the selection in private, cast and leave." 

Nassau voting experience

Nassau's voters will see less of a change in the way they cast a ballot because election officials kept the "pen-to-paper" method, focusing instead on upgrading the way the traditional oval-fill ballot is fed and read. The thousands of new devices look like a sturdy, compact laser printer.

The new system, purchased from the company Clear Ballot, "will not be much or a change for the voters but its definitely big for us to have these new machines," said Nassau County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner James Scheuerman. Several counties, mostly upstate and in western New York, use the Clear Ballot system. Similar to the older machines, the new ones allow voters to feed a paper ballot with shaded ovals through its system.

In April, county legislators there approved a Board of Elections request to spend $22 million on the next generation of ballot readers to replace technology that had been used for 16 years — well maintained, officials said, but long after the machines' recommended lifespan.  

"We kept those machines going as long as we could to make sure they were good to run for the elections, safe and secure," Scheuerman said.

James Moriarty, Nassau's Republican elections commissioner, noted that this year because the ballot combines federal, state and most local elections, voters will have more candidate selections. 

"People should be aware that they should vote on both sides of the ballot," Moriarty said. He said voting by mail, early or on Election Day are all secure ways to cast a ballot. There are 27 early voting sites in Nassau County. 

"It's really whatever your personal preference is," Moriarty said. "More and more people are taking advantage of early voting, so as a result there are fewer lines on Election Day. So we encourage people to vote early or by mail."