(Seguin) — Guadalupe County election officials are reminding voters that election equipment wasn’t just rolled out and plugged in.
As the November 3 election day nears, officials remind them of the steps taken in order to ensure the integrity of the voting system. Officials say they completed the testing of the county’s voting equipment ahead of the November election, even giving members of the public an opportunity to see part of the process that takes place behind the scenes.
The public logic and accuracy testing is required by state law and was conducted ahead of the Sept. 16 deadline, according to Guadalupe County Elections Administrator Teresa Kiel.
The testing was open to the public and included representatives of both the Republican and Democratic parties, along with election watchers and other members of the public.
Kiel says the testing is designed to verify that the county’s voting systems are programmed correctly and that ballots are counted and reported as expected.
“We have predetermined ballots, already predetermined results, and we test the voting against those results to make sure the votes are reported properly, and that they’re tallied properly,” said Kiel.
The process allows election officials to compare the results produced by the voting equipment against results that have already been established for the test ballots.
Kiel says the equipment passed the testing.
She also emphasized that election preparation involves considerably more work than what voters see on Election Day.
“I just thought I knew what elections were until I got out here. It’s way more than I ever imagined,” said Kiel. “Way a whole lot more goes on behind the scenes to get ready for the election in November.”
The testing is one of several steps election officials take before voters head to the polls next week.