July 30, 2022 – The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office conducted a public Logic and Accuracy (L&A) test on all ballot counting equipment that will be used for the requested recount for 2022 Primary Election. This test is inclusive of the Central Count Optical Scanners, and Voter Service and Polling Center ADA accessible ballot-marking devices. Each component was tested to verify that it is fully functional and free from mechanical problems and properly tabulates votes and passed with 100% accuracy.
Formal requests and payment for recounts in the Republican Party Primary Election were received from Peter Lupia, candidate for the County Clerk and Recorder, Rae Ann Weber, candidate for the County Coroner, Lynda Zamora Wilson, Candidate for State Senator District 9 and a statewide recount is being conducted for Tina Peters, candidate for Colorado Secretary of State. The final official results for these races did not meet the threshold set in Colorado law to trigger a mandatory recount.
“El Paso County is unique due to the fact we are conducting four recounts simultaneously and is the only county in the state that had a request for multiple requested recounts. The L&A test is an integral process that verifies ballots are counted accurately, confirms the efficacy of the results and instills voters with confidence in our elections,” said Chuck Broerman, Clerk and Recorder. “We along with other Colorado Counties continue to pass this test with flying colors, now having performed over a thousand L&A tests of the election management system throughout the state. Voters should understand the importance of these safeguards for our representative democracy. Successful completion of this test ensures the results accurately reflect the intent of El Paso County voters.”
Members of the bipartisan Testing Board, appointed bipartisan Canvass Board and Election Judges, participated, and confirmed approximately 4,200 voted test ballots were cast on each voting unit to ensure that it recorded votes accurately. In addition, the candidates who requested the recount were the opportunity to mark 10 random ballots each, and then compared their hand counts to tabulated results. The L&A Certification for Voting Equipment was signed by the Testing Board and notarized. This confirms complete accuracy throughout the entire voting and counting process and is ready for the recount, beginning this afternoon and must be concluded by Thursday, August 4, 2022.
The L&A test consists of three components:
- System Function Test – This part of the test requires a pre-printed test deck with known results. This allows us to be confident that a vote for every choice is tested and placed in the correct “bucket” of results. This test verifies that the election was programmed correctly by county staff in the Election Management System (EMS).
- Hardware Function Test – This test ensures that all of the EMS hardware that will be used in the election functions properly. For example, powering devices on and off, checking that battery-powered devices are holding a charge and printing from the ImageCastX ballot marking devices.
- Integrity Check – The final part requires the bipartisan Testing Board or the candidates who requested the recount to select a sample of a minimum of 10 blank ballots each to vote as they choose. The Testing Board makes a hand tally of these ballots to check against the machine count after they are tabulated on a scanner of their choosing. This test is as expansive as the Testing Board chooses to make it in an effort to achieve the highest confidence in the EMS vote tabulation.