The Aug. 2 Missouri Primary election is less than a week away and thanks to the local election directors, local voters can expect a secure and accurate tally of votes cast.
Chris Hershey and Wendy Flanigan, Directors of Election for the Platte County Board of Elections, completed a step-by-step process to test the voting machines last week.
Four people worked on the Public Test, and it took one full day, and about 30 man hours. The test decks for this election are unusually large because there is an unusually large amount of senate candidates. Hershey said that other elections usually take 8-12 man hours.
Equipment testing is required by 15 CSR (Code of State Regulations) but not everyone does three per election. Some do one before the election and one after, for a total of two.
“Each election is programmed in the office, which generates unique ballot styles based on possible district combinations for any given address,” Hershey said. “When the ballots have been printed, Wendy and I mark what will become the test deck. Each ballot is stamped designating it as a test ballot and the deck is marked in a way so that we can easily verify the results after all the ballots have been cast.”
Flanigan and Hershey run each eligible ballot through every ballot scanner, then they run the totals to verify that scanner recorded what they know was in the deck.
No problems were found with the recent test. The equipment accurately read the test.
When there was a scanning array malfunction in a scanner in the past, the array was replaced by the vendor and since then, the scanner has had no problems.
The Directors of Election for the Platte County Board of Elections believe that the extensive voting machine tests should help voters feel 100% confident that their voting experience will be simple and accurate.
“Everything we do is done in bi-partisan teams including testing,” Hershey said. “Pre- and post-testing is open for public observation and to the media. No equipment used to program or count ballots is ever connected to the internet.
One of the most common problems with voting machines is caused by a smudge on the scanning surface. “If that happens ballots can still be cast in a different orientation (face down instead of face up for example) until a member of our staff arrives to clean it,” Hershey said.
Flanigan has been a director on the Board of Elections since 1993 and Hershey started in 2013. Although they have had some inquiries from people who don’t trust that the results are accurate, particularly over the last few years, they view what they do as rewarding work, and an honor to have the opportunity to participate in, and be responsible for democracy in their community.
“The thing I like best about my job ias the sense that in a small way, in the way I’m able, I get to be a steward of the processes that allow the community to directly engage with all levels of government,” Hershey said.
Because Missouri has an open senate seat to fill, Hershey had expected there to be a lot of interest in the upcoming primary. Primary elections usually have about a 30-35% turnout.
“As we get closer to election day I’m not seeing as much excitement as I expected so I’d guess we end up around 30%,” Hershey said. “Voting is the most directly powerful form of political speech. Everything that is said about politics or policy is said to influence how people will vote. Voting is the way we choose our leaders who ultimately set the policies that we all live by, or more directly, we sometimes have the chance to vote directly on issues. We all live with the policies that we as a group have chosen. I think it is important to have a voice in the process.”