Albemarle County electoral board approves April 21 ballot order, readies testing and staffing for special election

The Albemarle County Electoral Board voted Feb. 19 to approve the ballot order for a special election set for April 21 and moved forward with training, testing and site logistics while continuing to investigate intermittent failures of DS300 optical-scan machines.

Board Chair Bucky Walsh opened the meeting by announcing the court-ordered April 21 election and saying the office would “proceed in full election mode” to prepare for voting. The board approved the registrar’s ballot order after adding an amendment to allow ordering extra folded absentee ballots if necessary.

Why it matters: The board’s decisions shape how thousands of county voters will cast ballots and how the office will handle early voting, absentee mailings and equipment reliability over a busy election calendar that includes August and November contests.

Staff reported manufacturer testing of three DS300 units that failed again during vendor diagnostics after being sequestered following the prior election. The manufacturer, ES&S, told staff it has observed the same failure pattern in a small fraction of its roughly 15,000 units and supplied replacement hardware for the three failed machines. Officials said the vendor is evaluating whether a hardware replacement or a software patch is the appropriate remedy; a hardware fix could be fielded sooner because software changes require state certification.

“Having three spare machines saved us from a scramble,” said Dr. Wheeler, noting the board’s earlier insistence on having backup units available. The board stressed that preserving original thumb-drive sets and having spares ready is important for recount readiness and consecutive elections.

Registrar staff reviewed ballot-printing logistics and absentee quantities: roughly 7,028 absentee ballots were on the order list, with the registrar saying the figure should cover mail and print-on-demand needs but leaving room to fold ballots as a contingency. The board discussed how many ballots to send to polling places versus holding stock centrally, with members noting early voting trends reduce on‑site demand at many precincts.

On sites and facilities, the registrar proposed using Room B for early voting because turnout is expected to be low; the board agreed to hold Room A as a contingency for the last week of voting if turnout is higher than projected. Members asked staff to prioritize clear signage and advance outreach to minimize voter confusion if a location change becomes necessary.

The board discussed precinct staffing and school logistics for polling places in active schools, including arrangements to keep students and voters separate, additional crowd-control staffing where needed and a process for limited background screening for officers who will work inside school buildings. Staff said they are coordinating with the Albemarle County Schools and county emergency-response personnel to finalize plans.

Other operational notes included dates for logic-and-accuracy testing and device L&A (late March and early April), an internal deadline to mail absentee ballots in early March, and a reminder of a March 1 state reporting deadline for local election security posture with subsequent internal sign-offs in April and May.

The board moved into a closed session under the Code of Virginia to discuss prospective employment candidates and contractual matters; after returning, members certified the closed session and appointed nine officers of election for one-year terms beginning March 1, 2026.

What’s next: Staff will follow up with vendor testing results and any vendor-supplied hardware replacements, complete L&A testing and training schedules, mail absentee ballots per the March timeline, and continue coordination with schools and facilities management on site configurations and contingency plans.