How Is Pennsylvania Testing Its Voting Machines?
2024-10-02
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1Elections officials across Pennsylvania have begun testing their voting machines using a method known as logic and accuracy testing.
2It will be important to know how the machines will perform under the pressure of the hard use they will experience during the election.
3All election equipment used by Pennsylvania counties is put through this pre-election "stress test."
4A stress test is a way to find out how something performs under pressure.
5Pennsylvania law requires all its counties to conduct logic and accuracy testing before any election. All other states do similar testing.
6Forrest Lehman is director of elections and registration in one Pennsylvania county.
7"Really, we are testing the voting system end to end," he said.
8"It's almost like we're running a small-scale election."
9During logic and accuracy testing, election officials create sample ballots.
10Some of these are made to fail or cause errors in the machines.
11The officials put the samples through the machines to make sure they are counting votes accurately and noting errors.
12Mark Lindeman is director of policy and strategy at Verified Voting, a group that studies voting technology in the U.S.
13He said that "logic and accuracy testing, combined with post-election audits of the voted ballots" show that "voting machines are doing what they're supposed to do."
14Pennsylvania counties have until 15 days before the election to confirm that they have completed the logic and accuracy test.
15County officials must tell the heads of local political parties when and where they are doing the testing.
16The Pennsylvania Department of State says counties should also notify the public.
17The public can choose to observe the testing.
18Snyder County Director of Elections Devin Rhoads said his county's testing is set to begin in October and finish in three days.
19Rhoads said anybody who wants to watch Snyder County's testing is welcome.
20"We're open and transparent," Rhoads said.
21"If I have a person who is questioning or doesn't believe in the system," he says, he will show them how it works.
22Other county election officials say they will run their tests over the coming weeks.
23After the testing, officials reset the machines and keep them in a secure location until they go out to the voting places for Election Day.
24Pennsylvania is considered an important swing state in this year's presidential election.
25A swing state is a state where candidates from the nation's two main political parties share similar levels of support among voters.
26This year, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump are both seeking to win Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes.
27Election Day in the U.S. this year is November 5.
28I'm Jill Robbins.
1Elections officials across Pennsylvania have begun testing their voting machines using a method known as logic and accuracy testing. It will be important to know how the machines will perform under the pressure of the hard use they will experience during the election. 2All election equipment used by Pennsylvania counties is put through this pre-election "stress test." A stress test is a way to find out how something performs under pressure. 3Pennsylvania law requires all its counties to conduct logic and accuracy testing before any election. All other states do similar testing. 4Forrest Lehman is director of elections and registration in one Pennsylvania county. "Really, we are testing the voting system end to end," he said. "It's almost like we're running a small-scale election." 5How it works 6During logic and accuracy testing, election officials create sample ballots. Some of these are made to fail or cause errors in the machines. The officials put the samples through the machines to make sure they are counting votes accurately and noting errors. 7Mark Lindeman is director of policy and strategy at Verified Voting, a group that studies voting technology in the U.S. He said that "logic and accuracy testing, combined with post-election audits of the voted ballots" show that "voting machines are doing what they're supposed to do." 8Preparing for Election Day 9Pennsylvania counties have until 15 days before the election to confirm that they have completed the logic and accuracy test. 10County officials must tell the heads of local political parties when and where they are doing the testing. The Pennsylvania Department of State says counties should also notify the public. The public can choose to observe the testing. 11Snyder County Director of Elections Devin Rhoads said his county's testing is set to begin in October and finish in three days. 12Rhoads said anybody who wants to watch Snyder County's testing is welcome. 13"We're open and transparent," Rhoads said. "If I have a person who is questioning or doesn't believe in the system," he says, he will show them how it works. 14Other county election officials say they will run their tests over the coming weeks. 15After the testing, officials reset the machines and keep them in a secure location until they go out to the voting places for Election Day. 16All eyes on Pennsylvania, other swing states 17Pennsylvania is considered an important swing state in this year's presidential election. A swing state is a state where candidates from the nation's two main political parties share similar levels of support among voters. This year, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump are both seeking to win Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes. 18Election Day in the U.S. this year is November 5. 19I'm Jill Robbins. 20Josh Kelety reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 21______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23county - n. an area of a state or country that is larger than a city and has its own government to deal with local matters 24logic - n. a proper or reasonable way of thinking about or understanding something 25accuracy - n. the ability to work or perform without making mistakes 26sample - adj. used as an example of something 27scale - n. the size or level of something especially in comparison to something else 28audit - n. a careful check or review of something 29transparent - adj. honest and open; not secretive 30What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.