by Larry Chowning –
J.D. Davis of Locust Hill was hired as a voting machine custodian assistant by the Middlesex County Electoral Board on December 13, 1990, and is retiring after the November 5 election following 27 years of service.
Davis is now the main custodian of the county’s voting machines and his title is machine custodian. “It’s a little bit like being a Maytag repair man,” said Davis jokingly. “When people are voting I sit around waiting for the phone to ring, and when it does, I am on the move.”
The job of machine custodian is to maintain the county’s voting machines and to perform Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing of the equipment right before the election, said Middlesex County registrar Melissa Welch.
Before the election, all machines are cleaned and ready to go, said Welch. The L&A testing is done by Davis and his assistant, Bobby Wilson of Saluda. While the L&A tests are being conducted, by law local Republican and Democratic party chairs and the entire Middlesex Electoral Board must be present.
During elections, Davis and Wilson are on call to maintain the machines. “The only trouble we have had with the new ‘Optic Scanner’ machines is when a battery goes dead or when the people manning the polls either forget to turn on the on-off button or some how it gets turned off,” said Davis. “The new machines work beautifully. They also provide a paper ballot which is what the law requires.”
