County tests voting machines in preparation for May election

In order to provide for a fair election this May 6 and beyond, staff, volunteers and observers met Tuesday in a mock mini-election with 33 sample ballots to test the county’s voting machines. The test is designed to ascertain that each machine “will accurately count the votes cast for all offices and on all measures,” according to county officials.

Hays County Election Administrator Jennifer Doinoff described why the process is necessary, saying it is to ensure that the machines will provide accurate accounting of votes, an issue that took national prominence in the recent Presidential election.

The announcement of the test was published prior to Tuesday to allow for the public to come and participate.

The county uses machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic, machines that the company markets as its Verity Voting system. The county owns 400 Hart InterCivic Duo machines, and 70 scanners.

“We purchased these in 2019,” Doinoff said, following a lengthy process overseen by the Hays County Commissioners Court and staff.

Present for the test Tuesday were staff members who are new to the process and needed to be introduced to the machines, she said. Most staff have trained twice to be well prepared for any problems that might develop on election day.

Setting up the machines for the test required a few trial and error moments, one this day likely created by the need for a different cord. According to staff, these contingencies are planned for on election day and the machines are sent out with extra cords.

“They are not cell phones,” Doinoff said, and do take a few minutes to bring online and ready to accept ballot data.

Also helping out in the process was Benjamin Kleiber, Hays County voter registration clerk who called himself the face at the front for those coming to the county election offices located at 712 Stagecoach Trail.

The state of Texas is one of the most stringent in the country for oversight with respect to voting systems and machines, Doinoff said. Counties work with their own elected officials and the state and its Election Assistance Commission. According to the state website, the EAC works to support “state and local election officials in their efforts to ensure accessible, accurate. and secure elections.”

In the test mode, volunteers were handed sample paper ballots with selections pre-made and an access code similar to what a voter will receive on election day. Then with this access code, each person participating was asked to key in their number and then proceeded to vote according to the sample provided them.

The goal was that at the end of the procedure the tally of the machines would coalesce perfectly.

After receiving a printed record of their vote, the volunteer was paired with a staff member who double-checked the document before placing it into another machine called a scanner. The scanner keeps track of how many votes are tabulated and also bears a number that reflects over the machine’s lifetime how many votes it has tabulated.

Two volunteers, Julie Taylor and Laura Nunn, each took turns submitting ballots into machines.

For those with sight challenges, these machines are equipped with braille signage and a system that allows for audio reproduction of the ballot before the voter. Sound may be adjusted for these individuals to make voting more seamless.

To make the test even more realistic, Doinoff and Virginia Flores, assistant election administrator, included a provisional ballot. Hays County does not permit provisional ballots to be scanned into the machines on election day. Instead, the voter enters their choices and prints a record of their votes. This printed record is then placed with all other provisional ballots into sealed envelopes and are individually reviewed for inclusion in the final vote.

If approved for inclusion, the provisional ballot is finally scanned and added to county election totals. The Hart scanners will reject provisional ballots on election day. These machines will not allow overvoting—voting for more than one candidate or proposition where the selection is also limited to one, for example.

When all 33 ballots and the provisional ballot were entered into the system, the test generated a hashtag document that allowed for comparison that showed the software and the machine systems were running perfectly.

Doinoff said that they have a high number of applications now for those wishing to help out in May but that in November, they might be looking to reach out to the public for election day assistance.

This current election cycle did not require or generate attendance by members of either the Democratic or Republican parties in Hays County.

Doinoff said in a Presidential Election cycle such as the one coming in 2024, when machine tests are conducted the room will have many more participants.