Counties conduct tests for voting machines
FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County’s voting machines were on display and open for testing Wednesday as officials gear up for the Nov. 14 special election in Fayetteville.
Jennifer Price said a public testing event is required by state law before every election.
“This is my first public test where I have members of the public, so thank you for coming,” Price told the 10 people who gathered at the Election Commission office to observe.
Benton County’s Election Commission will do a similar test Tuesday.
Sebastian County won’t have any public testing this fall since there are no elections scheduled, according to Meghan Hassler, the county’s election coordinator. There will be a public test in advance of the March elections, as there will be in all 75 counties, Hassler said.
Price explained how the county uses electronic poll books to check in voters and reduce the chance of anyone casting more than one ballot. The poll books automatically record when a ballot is issued to a voter and are linked together so poll workers at every voting location can access the same information showing whether a person has voted.
Price also talked the group through the use of bar codes on ballots, which she said has been questioned by some people. She explained what the bar codes are, information relating to rows and columns on ballots, and said anyone with a smart phone can download a bar code reader and be able to see for themselves what information is in the bar codes.
Price also explained the use of the county’s ballot counting machines and a number of testing protocols and security measures in place for every election.
Gene Morgan of Springdale said he learned about the testing event in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and decided to attend. Morgan said he has been voting in Arkansas elections for 25 years and has never had any problems with the electronic voting equipment.
Alexandra Paulsen said she has been voting in Fayetteville for the past five years. Paulsen, who said she is a member of the Young Democrats of Arkansas, said providing voters with information on how elections work is always beneficial.
“I appreciate how transparent Washington County is and explaining what it takes to ensure every voter has their vote counted,” she said.
Mary Alice Serafini is a member of the board of the League of Women Voters of Washington County and has been an active voter in the county for more than 30 years. She said she appreciated getting a look at what goes into making elections work.
“We were able to see evidence that the system is working,” Serafini said. “They are able to document the process, and citizens are told everything they want to know.”
The commission is preparing for the Nov. 14 special election for the vacant Ward 1, Position 1 race for Fayetteville’s City Council. Four candidates — David D. Phillips, S. Robert Smith, Robert Stafford and Katherine M. Sager — are seeking to replace Sonia Harvey.
Stafford attended Wednesday’s public testing and said he was pleased with the information provided.
“It’s great to see all of the backups and the redundancies, to see the information trail they create so that if something goes wrong, they can go in and fix it,” Stafford said. “I have great confidence in the system.”