Athens elections officials ramp up for election day

With 54 days to go before the November 3 elections, the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections is gearing up for testing of the County’s voting equipment. What are called Logic and Accuracy tests are set to start next week.

From the Athens-Clarke Co government website…

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections will conduct a Logic and Accuracy Test on all voting equipment that will be used in the upcoming November 3, 2020 General Primary Runoff Election.

The testing will begin on Monday, September 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Athens-Clarke County Facilities and Landscape Management Building located at 2555 Lexington Road, Athens, Georgia, 30605 and will continue until all units have been tested and proven accurate.

The public is invited to view the logic and accuracy testing. In order to support social distancing requirements during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, two people can observe at a time in 30-minute time slots. Appointment times are available every half hour from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. beginning on September 14 through completion. Additional time slots and days will be added if additional testing days are needed. Residents can register for a time slot online using an online form available at www.accgov.com/elections or by calling 706-613-3150.

The State of Georgia requires Logic and Accuracy Testing through specific procedures prior to every election. As part of the process, staff with the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections run tests on the new paper-based voting units, the check-in system, and the optical scan system for recording absentee ballots.

The first part of the process involves receiving the secure election database from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office for the upcoming election. The system uses this database to create memory cards for the voting equipment, program the voting equipment, and produce ballots and reports.

Once the memory cards are created for the voting system, the logic and accuracy procedures test the proper creation of the voter access cards, display of the ballot on the screen, printing of the paper ballot, scanning of the paper ballot, vote collection, and tabulation results. During the process, units are calibrated, physically inspected, and recorded.

All races, headers, race titles, candidates, and placement order of candidates are visually checked on the touch-screen units. Testing is performed using voter access cards. Ballots are also checked to confirm proper audio and magnification assistance features.

After a machine is tested and proven accurate, it is sealed and stored in a secure building until election day. Access to this building is tightly controlled. The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections follows all state laws contained in the Official Code of Georgia and State Election Board rules concerning the testing and storing of voting equipment.

The voter registration deadline for the November 3, 2020 General Election is Monday, October 5, 2020. Early voting will begin on Monday, October 12, 2020. Absentee ballots can be requested through an online portal, mail, fax, or email. Details are available at www.accgov.com/elections.

Cox Media Group