Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Chief Elections Officer & Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing of San Mateo County’s voting system will begin on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 10 a.m. for the November 2, 2021 Special Election for the Town of Woodside and Menlo Park City School District. L&A will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo.
“The public and the media are welcome to observe our testing process for accuracy of the tabulation of votes,” offered Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. “Logic and Accuracy testing ensures all voting equipment used in the upcoming election functions properly,” explained Church.
Before every election, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division tests the voting system’s vote-counting software through sample ballot-casting exercises to verify if votes are correctly tabulated and recorded.
L&A testing is performed in two phases:
- The first phase focuses on votes marked on the Ballot Marking Tablets (BMTs). English, Spanish, and Chinese ballots for the election are marked in a predetermined pattern. The votes are recorded by running the ballots through scanners. These scanners work in connection with the vote counting system called Image Cast Central (ICC). ICC reads voting marks within a predetermined space on the ballot and records them. This phase is passed only when there is a perfect match between the votes cast and the predetermined test results.
- The second phase focuses on traditional paper ballot voting. English, Spanish and Chinese paper ballots are marked in a predetermined pattern. These ballots are then scanned to verify that the votes cast match the patterns on the ballots. This phase is completed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast and the predetermined test results.
Additionally, equipment for every Vote Center, including Ballot Marking Tablets, Ballot Marking Tablet Printers, and Mobile Ballot Printers, will undergo function testing. Function testing ensures the proper operation of all voting equipment used at the Vote Center. This testing process also confirms that the equipment is loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Secretary of State.
Upon completion of L&A and function testing, the voting equipment will be ready to be used by voters participating in the November 2, 2021 Special Election for the Town of Woodside and Menlo Park City School District. The Registration & Elections Division will provide early voting services at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo beginning October 4. There will be additional Vote Centers, in Menlo Park and in Woodside, on Election Day.
Voting Equipment Manufacturer – Dominion Voting Systems
The Dominion Voting System used by San Mateo County is called Democracy Suite. It is a state-certified, fully integrated voting system, providing the highest degree of election security and transparency to the voting public.
Democracy Suite produces paper ballots, allowing voters to review their ballot to confirm the selections made are listed properly. All post-election manual tallies of the votes cast serve as audits, and they have validated the accuracy and reliability of results, confirming the integrity of election outcomes.
San Mateo County has been using the Dominion Democracy Suite Voting System since November 2019.
Special Election Updates
The most comprehensive resource for San Mateo County election information is www.smcvote.org, which is updated frequently as Election Day approaches. For more information on voting services available for the Special Election, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcvote.org or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.