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 testing (L&A) of the eSlate voting system equipment will begin on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. for the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election. According to Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, “Interested parties can observe our test for accuracy in the tabulation of votes.” L&A will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo. Members of the public are encouraged to observe this process.
"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 manually tests the voting system’s vote counting software through sample ballot-casting exercises to verify if votes are correctly tabulated and recorded.
L&A is performed in two phases. The first phase of L&A focuses on the electronic votes cast on the eSlate voting machines. The elections staff uses test versions of the English, Spanish and Chinese ballots for the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election. This phase is passed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast and the predetermined test results.
The second phase of L&A focuses on paper ballot voting. The English, Spanish and Chinese paper ballots used for testing are clearly identified as test ballots. The votes marked on the paper ballots are recorded by running the ballots through a digital scanner-tabulator. This scanner works in connection with the vote counting system called Ballot Now. Ballot Now accepts voting marks within the predetermined space on the ballot and records them. This phase is completed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast and the predetermined test results.
Additionally, every voting machine will undergo functional testing. Functional testing ensures the proper operation of every dial, button, connector and other hardware components of the voting machines. This testing process confirms that the voting machines are loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Secretary of State.
Upon completion of L&A and functional testing, over 400 eSlate voting machines will be ready to be deployed to 39 Vote Centers for the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election.
New Election Model for June 5, 2018
The June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election will be the first election conducted under the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA). The VCA will implement an All-Mailed Ballot/Vote Center model, with every registered voter receiving a Vote-by-Mail Ballot through the mail. The Vote-by-Mail Ballot may be returned by mail, dropped off at any Vote Center or Special Ballot Drop Boxes located throughout the county. Return postage will be prepaid for those voters wishing to return their ballots through USPS.
Vote Centers will replace traditional polling places and will be open for voting throughout the early voting period. Vote Centers will be providing expanded voter services such as voter registration, multilingual assistance and disabled access voting options.
For more information on the California Voter’s Choice Act and the new All-Mailed Ballot/Vote Center election model, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter @smcvote.