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What It’s Like To Vote On LA County’s New ‘Ballot-Marking Devices’

Some sections have more than one page of choices. Those choices can be seen by pressing the more button. (Chava Sanchez/ LAist)

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Let’s take a moment to remember a dearly departed institution in L.A. County: those old InkaVote devices. Rest in power, you odd invention of the 1960s.

This election, L.A. County is using new voting machines. They’re called “ballot-marking devices.” Each of the new voter booths features an iPad-esque touchscreen interface and a printer.

The booths are the linchpin of L.A. County’s new voting system: even though I voted this week in Boyle Heights, the screen still showed me all the races from my home precinct across town.

How does the system work? What’s it like to vote in L.A. in 2020? I took my recording gear as I cast my ballot and filed this story to help you know what to expect when you, too, cast a ballot in the March 3 primary.

And watch this space for a video about L.A. County’s new voting experience coming soon.

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