VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach election officials tested voting machines Thursday ahead of the start of early voting in Virginia for the November 2021 election.
The logic and accuracy tests for voting machines are required before every election, with machines receiving test ballots and printing test results while workers check that the machines count ballots correctly.
Virginia Beach Registrar Donna Patterson acknowledged that there's more attention on the voting process right now.
"People weren’t interested in it too much in the past, but we want you to know we always have followed these procedures," Patterson said. "This is part of the integrity process for the election."
The claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 November election were proven to be unfounded.
Early voting begins Friday, with polls opening at 8 a.m. Virginia Beach election officials have already mailed out more than 5,000 absentee ballots, with thousands more to come.
"The trend has been increasing for years now, so we are adjusting to it," Patterson said.
Election officials said some voters are sending in multiple request forms for an absentee ballot – making it more difficult for workers to eliminate duplicates.
"If you’ve already requested a ballot by mail, you don’t need to fill out another application, the ballots have gone out this week and will continue to go out every day going forward now," she said.
You can check your registration and absentee ballot status on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Editor's note: The video above is on file from June 2021.