Process Ensures Accuracy of Counting Software
March 21, 2011

Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Elections Manager

(Redwood City, CA)The San Mateo County Elections Office will perform the Logic & Accuracy (L & A) testing of the eSlate Voting System in preparation for the May 3 Consolidated Local Special Election, an election to be conducted by All-Mail ballots.  The testing will take place at the Elections Office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

L & A testing ensures that the hardware and software used in an election work properly. Members of the public are welcome to observe the L & A process.

“The L & A testing that we conduct before an election is unquestionably a fundamental step in the preparation for that election.  It provides the assurance that the equipment is functioning properly and the vote count will be reliable,” explained Mark Church, San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder.

The L & A testing for this election will only take one day because the May 3 election consists of just the contests to fill the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors, District 1, and three local school measures.  The L & A testing will not take the testers long to complete as the 30 ballot styles are short.

L & A testing ensures that all votes cast tally properly, whether the vote was cast on the electronic voting machine or a paper ballot.  “Regardless of the types of ballots cast, the size of a jurisdiction or the length and complexity of a ballot, the testing of the procedures and components of the election system are the same for every election,” explained David Tom, Elections Manager. “Everything must work perfectly.”

The planned L & A testing will initially focus on the testing of the electronic voting machines. Electronic voting machines will be made available for accessible and in-person voting at five Voting Centers in San Mateo County. Testers will cast ballots that mirror the current election. When they finish voting, the tabulation results must be an exact match to the test ballots cast in all three languages (English, Spanish and Chinese).

The second portion of the L & A testing will focus on the accurate tabulation of paper ballots that are scanned on the Ballot Now machines at Tower Road. Most of the ballots cast in this election will be counted on the Ballot Now scanning equipment since it is an All-Mail ballot election.  The testing will commence once the testing and validation of the electronic voting equipment is complete. The L & A testing of the Ballot Now scanning system ensures that all paper ballot counting processes perform accurately.

In keeping with state law and our standard practice, the Elections Office invites representatives from the political party central committees in San Mateo County to observe the process. In addition to the county central committee members, any interested member of the public may observe the L & A process, or any other process at the Elections Division.

For more information regarding the May 3 Consolidated Local Special Election, go to the San Mateo County Elections Division web site, www.shapethefuture.org, or call 650.312.5222.

Note:  A May 3, 2011 special election for the Pacific Parc Territory will be conducted by mail with voted ballots to be hand-counted.  Therefore, a Logic & Accuracy Testing will not be necessary.


The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org

Related Contacts

Mark Church

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer
555 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063-1665Get Directions
Phone:
650.363.4988

Jim Irizarry

Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Asst. Chief Elections Officer
555 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063-1665Get Directions
Phone:
650.363.4988