MILWAUKEE — City officials are gearing up for Election Day, as they tested the electronic voting equipment that will be used on Nov. 5. to make sure the systems work accurately and avoid any issues.
To test the machines, officials inserted pre-marked ballots and then reviewed the results. If the count showed any errors, they would have to fix the machine before Election Day.
Officials used over 5,000 ballots to test 186 machines.
Those machines will then be sent to 180 polling locations throughout the city.
"Public testing is part of the statutory process of election preparation, but I think it really gives the public an opportunity to see how we do the work that we do and to see the machines and familiarize themselves with those machines, and then also learn about our process," Paulina Gutierrez, director of the Milwaukee Election Commission said.
Throughout Wisconsin, State law requires municipalities to conduct a public test of their electronic voting equipment within 10 days prior to any election.
Miguel Mendez, one of the nearly dozen observers who wanted to see how the machines work, said he is still unsure about the process.
"I don't really trust machines with voting," Mendez said. "We're hoping for integrity in this election, that's what we hope for."
But Gutierrez wanted to let the public know that the system is secure and they are prepared for Election Day.
"State law is very explicit on the process and procedures that we do, to make sure that everything is fair, secure and transparent," Gutierrez said. "These machines, once they are done here, they get put into our secure area, we double check to know it's clear, we lock them and they remain there until Election Day."
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