Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Deputy Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) In preparation for the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District and Portola Valley Elementary School District Special All-Mail Ballot Elections on May 7, 2013, the logic and accuracy (L & A) testing of the eSlate voting system equipment will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 1 at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. According to Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Record for San Mateo County, the testing will take approximately 1/2 day and members of the public are encouraged to drop by the Registration & Elections Division to observe the testing process.
Prior to every election, the L & A testing is performed to ensure that the voting system’s vote counting software works properly, guaranteeing that the vote count will be accurate. “L & A testing is absolutely fundamental in the preparation of an election,” explained Church. “The testing provides an added level of confidence in the election results” he added.
The first phase of the L & A testing process targets the electronic votes cast on the eSlate voting machines. The elections staff uses “test” versions of the English, Spanish and Chinese ballots on the voting machines. During this first phase, the Registration & Elections Division ensures that all potential voter choices are tested for accuracy. Conversely, contests not voted upon and voted both yes and no are tested. This phase is passed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast counts and the predetermined test vote counts.
The second phase of L & A testing will target paper ballot voting. This test is equally rigorous, using the test matrices to mark paper ballots. The 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 that operates with the voting system’s Ballot Now vote counting software. Ballot Now accepts voting marks within the predetermined space on the ballot and records them. The contests are tested exactly as they are with the eSlates, and the L & A test is passed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast counts and the predetermined test vote counts. This phase of testing begins after the first phase is completed.
In a separate testing process, every voting machine will be subjected to functional testing in which the elections staff confirms that the machine is loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Secretary of State. As well, this testing process will confirm that every dial, button, connector, and other hardware component of the voting machines are operating properly.
After successfully passing all testing processes, 4 eSlate voting machines will be deployed for this election, 2 for each of the elections. The Voting Center for this election will be located at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. This site will allow for voting during the 29 days prior to Election Day.
For more information about the May 7, 2013 La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District and Portola Valley Elementary School District Special All-Mail Ballot Elections, go online at www.shapethefuture.org or call 650.312.5222.
The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org