County officials tested four voting machines on Monday during a public election board meeting and determined the system to be in working order.
The tests were done ahead of early voting, which kicks off Wednesday at the Johnson County courthouse. Today is the last day to register to vote in Johnson County for this election. Voters will select a new clerk, sheriff, county council members, township trustees, school board members and state representatives.
Clerk Sue Ann Misiniec, Cindy Rapp, a Democratic member of the election board, and Jeff Colvin, vice chairman of the Johnson County Republican Party, manually put 70 paper ballots into the machines during the test. A representative from ES&S, the company that administers the machines and voting software, checked the paper ballots up against a print-out from each machine to make sure there were no errors.
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The ES&S representative also tested the machine that on Election Day will count all of the paper ballots that are mailed in. As of Friday, the county had received more than 900 requests for paper ballots, which is higher than normal for a non-presidential election, Misiniec said.
The goal of the public test is to make sure the machines work, catch any invalid entries and make sure the print-outs match up perfectly with what was on the paper ballots to begin with. The test ballots will not be counted in the election.
Voting fraud and election tampering are issues of national concern right now, making the public tests an important step in the election process. But these tests aren’t new, Misiniec said. It’s something that’s been done before every election for several years, she said.
Johnson County has also made some changes to its vote-counting protocol as part of a statewide effort to make sure that our elections are secure, Misiniec said.
The machines that were used for the tests on Monday had to be sealed, she said. In the past, only the parts of the machine that contained pertinent information, such as flash cards and Personal Electronic Ballots (PEBs), had to be sealed.
Now, those entire machines will be disqualified from being used this election, she said. They must be stored at the election warehouse located at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, which is climate controlled and has security cameras.
Also, as soon as a voting machine is turned off at any of the vote centers on Election Day, the flash drive and PEB must be sealed immediately to ensure that there is no tampering, Misiniec said.
All of the protocol changes, which poll workers will be trained on in the coming weeks, were made to provide an added level of security, Misiniec said. The county doesn’t have any major concerns going into this election, some small glitches are anticipated as they roll out the new protocols, she said.
“We have not walked through things every step of the way, so we’re just going to have to have some patience as we walk through everything for the first time,” she said during the election board meeting. “There will be little issues that pop up here and there.”
Each tester received ballots from different precincts throughout the county to make sure there were no errors. Of particular concern were the three questions that are on ballots this election, including Clark Pleasant’s tax referendum which would raise property taxes in the district to help pay for added security at the schools. Only people living in certain parts of the county will be eligible to vote on those questions.
The same voting machines have been used for all eight years that Misiniec has be the county clerk, although she isn’t sure exactly how long the machines have been in use before that.
“The public likes the touch-screen machines. We like them too, but they’re so old that we can’t get replacement parts anymore,” Misiniec said. “They still work. That’s not a problem. But eventually we’re going to have to upgrade, so I’ve been poking the bear. We’re going to have to address this sooner or later, folks.”
It took each tester about one minute and 30 seconds to input each ballot, which is about how long it should take a voter to vote once they reach the booth.
Misiniec, Rapp and Colvin all signed off on the test during the meeting.
Chief Deputy Clerk Trena McLaughlin said 167 voting machines will be used in this election.
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Voters, whether they vote early or on Election Day, will cast their vote at one of 20 vote centers scattered throughout the county.
Voter registration deadline: Today
Early voting: Wednesday through Nov. 5
Election Day: Nov. 6
What you need to register:
- Have a valid Indiana Driver’s License or Indiana State Identification Card
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be at least 18 years old on or before the next election
- Have lived in your precinct for at least 30 days before the election
- Not currently be imprisoned after being convicted of a crime
What to take with you to the polls:
- An Indiana State Identification Card; a driver’s license, military ID or student ID if it was issued by a state college or university and has an expiration date
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