Before every election, county clerks must complete what’s called logic and accuracy testing. That’s to ensure all the voting machines are working properly.
First, county staff run a test to make sure all the tallies are reset to zero – no leftover numbers from past elections.
Then, sample ballots are run through the machines and checked to make sure they match the expected results. The machine separates any ballots that are filled out incorrectly, such as choosing too many candidates in a race.
County clerk-auditor Joey Granger explained how several trays on the voting machine that sort the processed ballots work.
“This means they were all good if they go to the bottom,” she said. “The other trays mean there’s an issue with them for whatever reason – so if it goes to the middle, it means there was probably an overvote or mark on the ballot that it doesn’t know what to do with.”
Those ambiguous ballots are then adjudicated, meaning election workers review them by hand.
There’s also a backup machine in case one piece of equipment fails on election night.
Granger said there are many other election safeguards in place: there must always be at least two trained people in the room with the voting equipment or when picking up ballots from drop boxes or the post office.
“There [have] to be two people at basically every spot there’s ballots,” she said.
And the computers for the voting machine can’t connect to the internet to avoid any risks of hacking or other security breaches.
Now that the machines have passed the logic and accuracy tests, they’ll be reset for the primaries Aug. 12.
Heber, Midway and Charleston all have primary races.
People can vote in person Aug. 5-8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the county government building. That’s for anyone who didn’t get a ballot in the mail or who needs help voting.
In-person voting is also available Aug. 12 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Due to a change in state law, election officials now must receive mail-in ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Previously, Utah voters only had to postmark their ballots by then. That means voters will need to be more proactive with mail-in ballots this year.
Granger encouraged voters to drop off their ballots early at the county building, in their town’s drop box, or at the Wasatch County Library.
She said the clerk’s office gets a lot of calls from people who live in the unincorporated county but ask where their city ballot is.
“Most things can be answered by going to vote.utah.gov or to our website,” she said.
The deadline to register online to vote is Aug. 1. Voters can also register in person through Election Day.
