Elections officials across Pennsylvania have begun testing their voting machines using a method known as logic and accuracy testing. It will be important to know how the machines will perform under the pressure of the hard use they will experience during the election.
All election equipment used by Pennsylvania counties is put through this pre-election “stress test.” A stress test is a way to find out how something performs under pressure.
Pennsylvania law requires all its counties to conduct logic and accuracy testing before any election. All other states do similar testing.
Forrest Lehman is director of elections and registration in one Pennsylvania county. "Really, we are testing the voting system end to end," he said. "It's almost like we're running a small-scale election."
How it works
During logic and accuracy testing, election officials create sample ballots. Some of these are made to fail or cause errors in the machines. The officials put the samples through the machines to make sure they are counting votes accurately and noting errors.
Mark Lindeman is director of policy and strategy at Verified Voting, a group that studies voting technology in the U.S. He said that “logic and accuracy testing, combined with post-election audits of the voted ballots” show that “voting machines are doing what they're supposed to do.”
Preparing for Election Day
Pennsylvania counties have until 15 days before the election to confirm that they have completed the logic and accuracy test.
County officials must tell the heads of local political parties when and where they are doing the testing. The Pennsylvania Department of State says counties should also notify the public. The public can choose to observe the testing.
Snyder County Director of Elections Devin Rhoads said his county's testing is set to begin in October and finish in three days.
Rhoads said anybody who wants to watch Snyder County's testing is welcome.
"We're open and transparent," Rhoads said. "If I have a person who is questioning or doesn't believe in the system,” he says, he will show them how it works.
Other county election officials say they will run their tests over the coming weeks.
After the testing, officials reset the machines and keep them in a secure location until they go out to the voting places for Election Day.
All eyes on Pennsylvania, other swing states
Pennsylvania is considered an important swing state in this year’s presidential election. A swing state is a state where candidates from the nation’s two main political parties share similar levels of support among voters. This year, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump are both seeking to win Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes.
Election Day in the U.S. this year is November 5.
I’m Jill Robbins.
