Rokey Suleman become Fairfax County general registrar on May 7, with just over a month to prepare for a round of June congressional primaries, including a hotly contested Democratic race in the 11th District. If that wasn’t stressful enough, he’s got to upgrade the county’s voting apparatus before the November presidential elections. Suleman got his start in the field in Trumbull County, Ohio.
You have a small window of time before the June 10 primary. Has this been a challenge?
It’s been a great transition. What’s really helped is the staff. Jack Harris, the former registrar, is still on staff through the end of June to ease the transition, so that I’m not thrown in a month prior to an election.
Is this an exciting time to jump into things in Fairfax County?
It’s a tremendous time to be jumping into Fairfax County. … I’ve got the congressional primaries next Tuesday. We are looking at supplementing the electronic voting machines with the optical scan equipment for the fall. We have the November presidential election, which Virginia is being touted as one of the potential crucial states this year. Fairfax County being the largest jurisdiction in the state, it’s certainly an exciting time to be here, be hands on and be involved and help guide the changes … to ensure everybody’s going to have a successful election.
Did you see election work as a career path early on?
I don’t know that anybody early on says ‘I’m going to be an election official.’ If somebody in high school says that, they probably should have their head checked. But I always sought government as a vocation. … Elections just kind of happened – and now elections is a full-time career. Without elections, nothing in government exists. It’s a great way to really be involved in public service and to ensure that everything happens well.
