Residents in Allegheny County will have the chance to test-drive new voting machines next month. The county's Division of Elections will host a series of demonstrations involving the voting systems, one of which the county will purchase and have installed for use at its 1,300 polling places in time for next year's presidential election.
The first demonstration will be at the Community College of Allegheny County's North Campus Gym on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
The new machines use a variety of technologies and approaches, ranging from sophisticated touch-screens to the old-school practice of marking a ballot with a pen. But every system retains a paper record of votes cast. That's thanks to a decision made by Gov. Tom Wolf last year, in the wake of revelations about Russian attempts to game the 2016 election. Those fears added to long-standing concerns among some voting-reform advocates that many Pennsylvania voting machines -- including those currently used in Allegheny County -- only store ballots electronically, and are subject to manipulation.
There has not been a documented case of such hacking in Pennsylvania, though activists say that without a paper trail, such interference would be hard to detect. Republicans, meanwhile, have argued that the new voting machines would be a significant taxpayer expense.
The full list of county demonstration events -- at which voters can try out the machines, ask questions of vendors, and provide feedback -- is reprinted below.
Tuesday, June 4 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
CCAC North Campus Gymnasium
8701 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh 15237
Wednesday, June 5 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
CCAC South Campus Gymnasium
1750 Clairton Road, West Mifflin 15122
Thursday, June 6 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
CCAC Boyce Campus Atrium
595 Beatty Road, Monroeville 15146
Saturday, June 8 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Kane Community Living Center Glen Hazel – Auditorium
955 Rivermont Drive, Pittsburgh 15207
Tuesday, June 11 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
CCAC Allegheny Campus Foerster Student Services Center Auditorium
808 Ridge Avenue, Pittsburgh 15212
Wednesday, June 12 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Kane Community Living Center Glen Hazel – Auditorium
955 Rivermont Drive, Pittsburgh 15207
Thursday, June 13 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
CCAC West Hills Center
Rooms S-1306, S-1307, S-1308 and S-1311
1000 McKee Road, Oakdale 15071
