Indian River County election workers finished their final preparations Friday morning by testing voting and tabulation equipment. Once the test was done, they started processing vote-by-mail ballots that voters had already returned.
State law requires a public logic and accuracy test before any ballots are counted. The test checks that machines record and tally votes correctly, and it gives the public a chance to watch. Workers ran 10 tabulators and 10 ExpressVote ballot-marking devices through the process, which took about an hour.
Supervisor of Elections Leslie Swan said staff marked every race on a test stack of ballots, along with a blank ballot and overvoted races, to confirm the machines counted them correctly. If a machine produces a bad result, officials trace the problem to that device and pull it from service for the election.
Once testing ends, the equipment is sealed and secured for delivery to early voting sites and Election Day polling places. Swan urged residents to attend the testing in person, saying it builds trust in the process.
