Stephens County Election Office schedules Logic and Accuracy testing for upcoming November 2023 General Election

Stephens County Election Supervisor Bruce Carlisle says the Stephens County Elections Office has scheduled its Logic and Accuracy testing for the upcoming November 2022 General Election.

Carlisle says on next Wednesday, October 11, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the office will conduct the state-required Logic and Accuracy testing at the Stephens County Historic Courthouse, 37 West Tugalo Street in Toccoa. Testing will continue from day to day as needed until testing is complete and vote taking and tabulating equipment is verified as accurate.

Carlisle explained that Logic and Accuracy testing is, in essence, a mock election conducted to test the voting equipment, and is conducted in every county in Georgia. 

According to documentation from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Logic and Accuracy Testing is a collection of pre-election procedures that ensure that the voting equipment and ballots to be used in an upcoming election can properly display the ballot, collect votes, and tabulate results. 

The Secretary of State’s website states, “Logic & Accuracy testing ensures that all components of election systems operate in the matter in which their programming is intended.

Using sample ballot-casting exercises, officials are able to verify, and the public is able to witness, that votes are correctly tabulated and recorded, state election officials say, explaining that each sample vote is recorded by running the ballots through the scanners, which are connected to the vote counting system. The vote counting system then reads voting marks within a predetermined space on the ballot and records them. Testing is only passed and complete when  there is a perfect match between the votes cast and the predetermined test results.  

Equipment for every Polling Site, including Ballot Marking Devices, Polling Pad, and Printers, will undergo function testing to ensure that the equipment operates properly.

This testing process also confirms that the equipment is loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Georgia Secretary of State.

Carlisle said that the testing of the equipment also serves as a refresher and training for election staff, and an opportunity for interested citizens to observe an important part of the election process. 

He stated that although the public is welcome, and in fact, encouraged, to attend the testing, the same rules that will be in force during the actual voting period, will also be in effect during L&A testing, in that there will be no still photo, audio or video recording.

He asked that people keep those rules in mind during early and election-day voting, and stressed that voting polling locations are not the place for cell phones or selfies.

Anyone with questions regarding Logic and Accuracy Testing can contact the elections office by calling 706-886-8954