The Athens-Clarke County Elections Department has announced it will conduct a logic and accuracy test on all voting equipment ahead of the November 4 Municipal General and Special Election. Testing is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM on Monday, September 22 at the Athens-Clarke County Facilities and Landscape Management Building, located at 2555 Lexington Road in Athens, Georgia. The process will continue daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM until all equipment is tested.
Political parties, media representatives, and members of the public are invited to observe the testing procedures.
Georgia state law requires that all voting equipment undergo logic and accuracy testing before each election. The procedure involves staff from the Athens-Clarke County Elections Department examining paper-based voting units, check-in systems, and optical scan systems used for absentee ballots.
The process begins with the department receiving a secure election database from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. This database is used to create memory cards for programming voting equipment and generating ballots and reports.
Logic and accuracy tests include verifying the correct creation of voter access cards, ballot display on screens, printing and scanning of paper ballots, vote collection, and tabulation results. Each unit is calibrated, inspected physically, and documented as part of this process.
Staff also visually confirm all races, headers, race titles, candidate names, and placement order on touch-screen units. Ballots are checked for proper functionality of audio features and magnification assistance.
Once machines pass these tests for accuracy, they are sealed and stored securely until Election Day. Access to storage facilities is strictly controlled. The Elections Department adheres to all relevant state laws regarding election equipment testing and storage.
For additional information about local elections or voting procedures in Athens-Clarke County, residents can visit www.accgov.com/elections or contact the Board of Elections at 706-613-3150.
