VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJRT) - Tuesday marks three weeks before the August 6th Primary Election. In preparation for the big day, election sites across Genesee County tested their voting machines.
The purpose of this test is two-fold: Not only does it help the clerk make sure the machines work, but it also gives the public the opportunity to see everything running smoothly.
"In today's political environment, it's especially important because any public that comes in can see that the machines are working properly and they're counting votes properly," said Vienna Township Clerk Cynthia Bryan.
A variety of ballots are tested, beginning with those that are mismarked and including one without any marks at all.
"That's part of the test is to make sure that blank ballots, any ballots that go through that may have a stray mark on it that the machine won't pick up those stray marks as a vote," said Bryan.
The machines also give the voter the opportunity to correct any mistakes.
"Especially in this election, if somebody crosses over on their ballots that the machine is going to kick it out and say 'No you can't do that,' and give the voter the opportunity to re-mark a ballot," said Bryan.
After the machines are finished counting the test ballots, election officials compare it to the list to make sure the votes are correct. Then, all of the machines are locked up until Election Day to prevent any tampering.
"We would know that something was broken into, and we have replacement drives, and they're not connected to the internet," said Bryan. "They're just a machine that reads black marks on a piece of paper and counts them."
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