Voting machines put to the test ahead of special election
City and county election commissioners came together Wednesday to ensure the voting machines slated for use in next week's special election were working properly.
The voting machines belong to the county but are being offered to the city free of charge, unlike other counties across the state that allow cities to use machines at a price.
According to City Clerk Lesa Hardin, the free use of the machines makes sense for one reason.
"The city pays county taxes too," Hardin said.
Election Commissioner Jason Hauser said testing the machines ahead of an election or vote was routine and that they needed to make sure the machines were clean, meaning the machines did not still have data from previous votes that could confuse them.
Election Systems and Software is the company responsible for the data support during the election. ES&S ran logic and accuracy tests Wednesday.
Logic and accuracy tests make sure that the machine is calibrated properly. The objective of the test is to confirm that what a voter presses on the screen is what the machine registers. If there are problems with any of the machines, a technician from ES&S is on site to fix them.
The entire process takes between two and three hours for an election this size.
Hauser said another important aspect of the election they were looking at Wednesday was ensuring that every site had at least one machine capable of accommodating any hearing or vision impaired voters.
The machines will used in the special election next week to fill the Ward 5 seat on the Board of Aldermen. This election will be available only to residents of Ward 5.
Another vote will be held across the city to decide on a 1% tax increase to help fund the proposed Cornerstone Park baseball and recreation facility.
Both votes will held on Thursday, May 30.