Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing of San Mateo County’s voting system will begin on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, at 10 a.m. for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election. This will be the fourth election in which the Dominion Democracy Suite voting system is used in San Mateo County. L&A will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, 94402.
“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 Vote Centers. 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, equipment will be ready to be deployed to 45 Vote Centers for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election.
November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election COVID-19 Prepared
Vote Centers will follow COVID-19 safety procedures. For more information on the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcvote.org or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.