Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Elections Division Manager
(Redwood City, CA) Logic and Accuracy testing (“L&A”) of the eSlate voting system equipment will begin Monday, April 21 at 8:30 a.m. for the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election, according to Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. L&A will take approximately three days and will be conducted at the Registration and Elections Division at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo. Members of the public are encouraged to observe this process.
“It is important to conduct transparent elections by allowing the public to observe the processes and procedures,” said Church. “L&A testing is fundamental in the preparation of an election. Encouraging members of the public to observe this process is essential in building and preserving public confidence in the integrity of the system,” he added.
Prior to every election, L&A is performed in two phases on the voting system’s vote counting software.
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 that include all contests in the June 3, 2014 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, 1,432 eSlate voting machines will be deployed to 210 polling places and 2 Voting Centers for the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election.
For more information about the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election, call the Registration and Elections Division at 650.312.5222 or visit www.shapethefuture.org.
The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org