County Election Board conducts voting machine testing

News

Marshall County Clerk Jenny Bennitt opened the Marshall County Election Board meeting on Tuesday with John VanVactor attending as proxy for Republican member Adam Lukenbill and Susan Kreighbaum in attendance as the Democratic board member. 

Organization of the election board was tabled again due to all members not being present.

Election Board members approved the CEB 40, Certification of Ballot Agreement, required in all vote center counties. Bennett said the agreement is posted at all vote centers and requires copies of each sample ballot for each precinct to be available for inspection by a voter at the voter center.   

Registered voters in Marshall County find a listing of each Vote Center on the county’s smart phone app and the county’s website under the Clerk’s Office. 

The County Election Board also conducted a public test on Tuesday. Once it is determined how many voting machines will be used during an election, a percentage of machines will be tested through a random selection process. For the May 7th Primary four machines needed to be tested.    

The clerk told board members that the new encoders purchased through a grant will be used this spring.  When the voter signs in, it encodes the card and when the card is put into the voting machine it selects the right ballot for the voter.  Bennitt said it makes the process faster and will eliminate the chance for human error.