El Paso County Government: Clerk And Recorder's Office Completes Public Test To Ensure Accuracy Of Voting Equipment Ahead Of 2021 Coordi ...

Press release from the El Paso County Government:

2021-10-08

October 7, 2021- The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office conducted a public Logic and Accuracy (L&A) test on all ballot counting equipment that will be used for the 2021 Coordinated Election. This test is inclusive of the Central Count Optical Scanners, and Voter Service and Polling Center ADA accessible ballot-marking devices. Each component was tested to verify that it is fully functional and free from mechanical problems and properly tabulates votes.

“The L&A test is an integral process that verifies ballots are counted accurately, confirms the efficacy of the results and instills voters with confidence in our elections,” said Chuck Broerman, Clerk and Recorder. “We along with other Colorado Counties continue to pass this test with flying colors, now having performed 930 L&A tests of the election management system throughout the state. Voters should understand the importance of these safeguards for our representative democracy. Successful completion of this test ensures the results accurately reflect the intent of El Paso County voters.”

Members of the bipartisan Testing Board appointed by El Paso County Republican Party Chair Vickie Tonkins and El Paso County Democratic Party Chair John Mikos, witnessed, and confirmed approximately 4,200 voted test ballots were cast on each voting unit to ensure that it recorded votes accurately. These test ballots are counted by each voting unit and cumulated results are verified. This confirms complete accuracy throughout the entire voting and counting process. In addition, the appointed Testing Board manually voted 25 random ballots each, and then compared their hand counts to tabulated results. The L&A Certification for Voting Equipment was signed by the Testing Board and notarized. The Certification will remain with the L&A test ballots for 25 months. All test results are cleared; the voting units are locked, sealed, and secured ready to be used in the election.

The L&A test consists of three components:

To learn more about the L&A test please refer to the Colorado Secretary of State Election Rule 11.3.2.

This press release was produced by the El Paso County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.