If you want your vote to count and to be able to cast it as quickly and efficiently as possible, there’s good news awaiting you in November’s election.

Here in Suffolk, voters will use new equipment to cast their vote come November, when they’ll choose General Assembly representatives as well as a couple of local seats.

For voters who might adapt more slowly to change, the registrar’s office will demonstrate the machines next week, Sept. 22-24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day at City Hall, 442 W. Washington St.

The new equipment isn’t difficult to use, however. I’ve personally used it to vote before. I believe it’s probably the best voting system: one that tabulates votes automatically, like a fully electronic system, but still leaves a paper trail, like a good ol’ fashioned voting system ought.

The machines feature paper ballots that voters mark by filling in an oval next to their choice. Anybody who’s ever taken a standardized test, before they were administered on computers, will be familiar with this process.

The ballots then are fed into a scanner that automatically tabulates the results but then collects the ballots in a bin under the scanner. That way, it’s a smooth process for officials on election night, but ballots can still be counted by hand in case there’s a problem. This system also leaves almost no room for mechanical error or mischievous intent that can’t be remedied, unlike systems that rely solely on touchscreens.

At next week’s demonstration, staff from the registrar’s office will be available to answer questions about the machines.

In addition, staff will be able to collect photographs and signatures of voters who wish to receive a free voter photo identification. Photo ID is now required for voting, and voters who do not have another form of photo ID — such as a driver’s license or military ID — can get the free one from the voter registrar.

A video demonstrating the use of the new machines also is available on the city’s cable channel, 190.

Absentee voting for the November election begins Friday.