Public Invited to Observe Critical Process
May 13, 2020

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 (L&A) testing of San Mateo County’s voting system, Dominion Democracy Suite, will begin on Monday, May 18, 2020, at 10 a.m. for the June 23, 2020 County Service Area No. 1 Special Mail Ballot Election. L&A will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. “The public and the media are welcome to observe our testing process for accuracy of the tabulation of votes,” said Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. “Logic and Accuracy testing ensures all voting equipment used in the upcoming election functions properly,” added 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 testing is performed in two phases. The first phase focuses on votes marked on the Ballot Marking Tablets (BMTs). English, Spanish and Chinese ballots for the June 23, 2020 County Service Area No. 1 Special Mail Ballot Election are marked in a predetermined pattern. The votes are recorded by running the ballots through scanner-tabulators. These scanners work in connection with the vote-counting system called Image Cast Central (ICC). ICC reads voting marks within a predetermined space on the ballot and records them. This phase is completed only when there is a perfect match between the votes cast and the predetermined test results.

The second phase focuses on traditional paper ballot voting. The English, Spanish and Chinese paper ballots are marked in a predetermined pattern. Then these ballots are scanned to verify that the votes cast match the patterns on the ballots. This phase is completed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast and the predetermined test results.

Additionally, equipment for every voting station, including Ballot Marking Tablets, Ballot Marking Tablet printers, and Mobile Ballot Printers, will undergo functions testing. Functions testing ensures the proper operation of accessibility devices and printers. This testing process confirms that the Ballot Marking Tablets and Mobile Ballot Printers are loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Secretary of State.

Upon completion of L&A and functions testing, equipment will be ready to be used by voters participating in the June 23, 2020 County Service Area No. 1 Special Mail Ballot Election.

For more information, call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.

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