Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Chief Elections Officer & Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder announced today that the Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing of San Mateo County’s voting system will begin on Friday, March 24, 2023, at 9 a.m. for the May 2, 2023 Millbrae School District Special Mail Ballot Election. L&A will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division, 40 Tower Road, San Mateo.
“The public and the media are welcome to observe our testing process for accuracy of the tabulation of votes,” said Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder. “Logic and Accuracy testing ensures all voting equipment used in the upcoming election functions properly.
Before every election, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division tests the voting system’s vote-counting software through sample ballot-casting exercises to verify if votes are correctly tabulated and recorded.
L&A testing is performed in two phases:
The first phase focuses on votes marked on the Ballot Marking Tablets (BMTs). English, Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino ballots for the election are marked in a predetermined pattern. The votes are recorded by running the ballots through scanners. These scanners work in connection with the vote counting system called Image Cast Central (ICC). ICC reads voting marks within a predetermined space on the ballot and records them. This phase is passed only when there is a perfect match between the votes cast and the predetermined test results. The second phase focuses on traditional paper ballot voting. English, Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino paper ballots are marked in a predetermined pattern. These ballots are then scanned to verify that the votes cast match the patterns on the ballots. This phase is completed only when there is a perfect match between the test votes cast and the predetermined test results.
Additionally, equipment for every Vote Center, including Ballot Marking Tablets, Ballot Marking Tablet Printers, and Mobile Ballot Printers, will undergo function testing. Function testing ensures the proper operation of all voting equipment used at the Vote Centers. This testing process also confirms that the equipment is loaded with the correct system software and firmware, as certified by the Secretary of State.
Upon completion of the L&A and function testing, the voting equipment will be ready to be set up for the Vote Center at the Registration & Elections Division for the May 2, 2023 Millbrae School District Special Mail Ballot Election.
Voting Equipment – Dominion Voting Systems
The Dominion Voting System used by San Mateo County is called Democracy Suite. It is a state-certified, fully integrated voting system that provides the highest degree of election security and transparency to the voting public.
Democracy Suite produces paper ballots that allow voters to review their ballot confirming their selections are correctly listed. All post-election manual tallies of the votes cast serve as audits, and they have validated the accuracy and reliability of results, confirming the integrity of election outcomes.
San Mateo County has been using the Dominion Democracy Suite voting system since November 2019.
Voting Period Begins on April 3 and Ends on May 2
Millbrae School District’s registered voters will receive a ballot in the mail in early April. In-person voting starts April 3 at the Registration & Elections Division. For more information on the May 2, 2023 Special Mail Ballot Election, please call or text 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.