ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County’s Supervisor of Elections invited the public to witness the pre-election testing of automated tabulating and voting equipment Friday morning.
The state of Florida requires a Public Logic and Accuracy Test, which demonstrates the accuracy of the tabulation system to ensure the equipment will correctly count the votes.
A random sampling of equipment was selected and then marked ballots were fed into the machine. After the results came in from the tabulating machines, the accuracy was compared to the predetermined outcome that they had selected for the test.
”Once the canvassing board approves the results, this room comes under surveillance, and no one can enter this room without law enforcement,” said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean.
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Today we held our Logic & Accuracy test for the Primary Election.
— Orange County, FL SOE (@OCFElections) July 26, 2024
7 Vote-By-Mail, 7 Early Voting, & 12 Election Day tabulation machines were chosen randomly and tested in front of the Canvassing Board & members of the public. Thanks to our amazing staff the test was successful! pic.twitter.com/6yAbLbF0SE
There are over 800,000 registered voters in Orange County. Gilzean says he also implemented other measures for transparency, especially for people who vote by mail.
“The goal is that when individuals actually vote by mail and turn those ballots in, they are aware that they come in and are put in the sorting machine, and then after that we put them in different tubs and then going from there, we schedule different times when the canvassing board will come and record that information,” Gilzean said.
If you were not able to attend Friday’s public testing, Gilzean also invites the public to watch the livestream on election night. It’s a system he recently implemented to promote transparency.
“Thank you to Channel 6 for actually stepping up and providing the information about the livestream. It was your station that broke the news that allowed everyone to know that this livestream feature is happening in Orange County, the first in the state and the first in the nation,” Gilzean said.
News 6 breaks down how Florida election officials process your ballot HERE.
If you would like to vote by mail in Orange County, you need to sign up by Aug. 8. We have details HERE on the Results 2024 section.
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