Eau Claire election workers test voting machines

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Election officials are beginning the process of testing voting machines in preparation for the August 9 political primary.

Election staff said this is not a new step. The testing of ballot machines happens before every election to make sure they are working properly and catching any mistakes that could arise.

Staff members run sample ballots through the machine, cross-check the results to make sure they were counted properly, and then zero out the machine when finished so they are ready to be used on election day.

“The integrity of our elections is very important to us, and that’s why we do test them,” Lynne Young, election worker and machine tester, said. “We want to make sure they’re working under any scenario. We run all sorts of different scenarios through the machines to make sure they’re coming up with the error messages when they should.”

Election workers said if you are someone who would like to vote, but may be concerned about accessibility, there are ADA-compliant voting options for anyone if they wish to use them to cast a ballot.

The Eau Claire election workers will continue to test the voting machines, from August 1-3 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m at 1305 Woodland Avenue in Eau Claire. Members of the public are able to stop by and observe the machine testing during this time.

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