County clerks would open voting-machine tests to the public

County clerks would post test notices, notify political parties and independent candidates, and allow authorized representatives and some members of the public to attend machine preparation. The rules cover voting machines used in elections, including electronic ballot-marking devices, and people attending preparation at the county clerk’s office or another stated location. The county clerk may limit public attendance to keep testing orderly, while allowing at least three members of the public. Each machine must be tested, prepared, sealed, and certified before it is used in an election. Notice must be posted at least two days before a machine test and at least 24 hours before a retest; testing and preparation must occur before the election.

County clerks would publicly test electronic voting systems to confirm that automatic equipment accurately counts every ballot style, office, and measure used in the election. The testing covers electronic voting systems, automatic tabulators, electronic ballot-marking devices, candidates including write-in candidates, and measures on every ballot style. Tests must use preaudited ballots or ballot cards with predetermined valid votes and votes that should be rejected when too many votes are marked. The test must include undervotes and overvotes when the machine type can record them. If an error occurs, the cause must be found and corrected, and the county clerk must certify an error-free count. Test results must be posted on the county clerk’s website, retained, and provided to anyone who asks. Notice must be posted at least two days before a test and at least 24 hours before a retest. The test must be held at least two weeks before the election.