Election preparation is underway
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Mar. 25—The work involved with preparing for the upcoming May 7 Primary Election is well underway.
The Decatur County Election Board met at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Decatur County Courthouse basement to test the voting machines stored there.
"We had no issues, it all went great," Decatur County Clerk Janet Howell reported Friday afternoon. "We follow all the protocol from the state and it's all very secure. We have no issues whatsoever."
Rush County Clerk Angela Buckley has announced there will be a public test of the voting machines used in Rush County elections at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 27, in the Rush County Courthouse Assembly Room.
The test will be conducted by members of the Rush County Election Board. The public cannot actively take part in the test but is welcome to attend.
"We will be physically testing a sampling of the voting machines to ensure that every candidate receives votes correctly," Buckley said. "There will also be sample absentee ballot cards tabulated to once again make sure that every candidate on the ballot receives the correct votes that were cast."
Once the test is concluded and the board members certify that everything is working properly, the machines will be reset to zero and locked until Primary Election day.
The voting equipment in Ripley County has not yet been tested, though it will be throughout the day on Tuesday, March 26, in the Ripley County Clerk's office in the annex building.
Members of the Ripley County Election Board will be present, and the tests are open for public observation.
Election Boards in each of Indiana's 92 county's are comprised of an equal number of Democrat and Republican representatives as well as the county clerk or an election deputy to help ensure the election process is secure, fair and accurate.
It's also important to note that no piece of Indiana's voting equipment is online; the machines and tabulators are not connected to the internet.
Public tests of voting systems are conducted in all counties prior to an election.
