MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission is reminding media members and the public that the window for public testing of electronic voting equipment for the Aug. 13 Partisan Primary Election commences on Saturday, Aug. 3. Testing must occur prior to Election Day.
The testing allows Wisconsinites to see firsthand how election officials prepare for the upcoming contests, and to better understand the security protocols that are in place ahead of Election Day.
State law requires all municipalities to conduct a public test of their electronic voting equipment not earlier than 10 days before each election. Pre-election testing is intended to confirm the accuracy of voting equipment programming and to bring transparency to the process. This event is considered a public meeting, and state law requires it to be noticed at least 48 hours before the test. Members of the public are invited to attend and observe the testing process. Voters can check with their local clerk’s office to learn when the public test is scheduled for their municipality.
Programming is verified by feeding a set of pre-marked test ballots into each machine and reviewing the results tape that is generated. An errorless count is required at the conclusion of the testing. According to Wis. Stat. 5.84(1), any anomalies identified must be remedied before the equipment can be used in an election.
Following the public test, voting equipment and memory devices are required to be secured. The WEC tells local clerks to utilize tamper-evident seals on memory devices that are in the equipment. WEC also instructs clerks to maintain a chain-of-custody log that documents any access to each memory device or tabulator by a member of the clerk’s office.
Media members are encouraged to contact local clerks to determine the testing plans and schedule for their communities.
