Logic and accuracy

My field trip to America’s exercise in election transparency

If you visit your county’s elections headquarters — as I did on a sunny suburban Maryland morning in mid-October — you shouldn’t expect to get anywhere without an escort. Layers of security are in place to secure the ballots and protect election officials. 

But that doesn’t mean your local elections headquarters is off-limits. In fact, they’re likely excited to have you there. 

As a whole, American elections officials are opening their doors and welcoming all of us in. Especially as they confront skepticism of the electoral process since 2020, election workers have started inviting skeptics to be a part of the process. One official in New Hampshire told me that every time someone calls to question the accuracy of the results, he invites them to serve as a poll worker. 

To be clear, I’m no skeptic, but my visit was still part of this nationwide wave of transparency. I was, along with other members of the Montgomery County electorate, at the Board of Elections building in Gaithersburg to observe the “logic and accuracy” testing of elections equipment. 

The visit was routine — one of thousands of similar windows into the election administration process happening across the country. But it showed far more about how our elections actually work than you’d see on hundreds of hours of cable news. 

Testing the accuracy of our elections

So what does the term “logic and accuracy” mean? 

As the staff members explained, “logic” refers to the test to ensure that votes are properly counted; “accuracy” refers to the test to ensure that they are recorded correctly. 

We watched the staff go through the rigorous checklists sent from the state of Maryland. They filled out hand-marked paper ballots, and uploaded and tested the software to a ballot-marking device. The device prints a paper receipt for voters to submit to be counted. Like 95% of voters nationwide, Montgomery County voters will cast their ballots on paper so that results can be recounted, audited, and stored. 

They placed the test ballots through the tabulation machine in multiple different configurations to make sure that its scanners were working properly. They printed the results and checked them. They explained that each machine has two USB drives that store the vote totals, in case one of them does not work. Each USB has a serial number on it that matches a specific machine. If someone tried to upload the wrong drive, an error message would appear. If someone tried to run the USB in the counting system twice, it would not work. 

When the process was complete, they removed the ballot box from the machine and secured a new one in its place. Together, with all of us watching closely, they ensured that all of the machinery read, “zero”, so that no votes were left on the machines. Blue tape and blue zip ties were placed to secure everything — not to be removed until it’s time to vote. 

Later, these 2,200 machines were sent through a secure chain of custody to voting locations across the county, and were received by thousands of dedicated poll workers with their own checklists in hand. 

What I learned about security

In every single jurisdiction across the country, election security is not a singular thing. It’s a matrix of interconnected safeguards, redundancies, and processes designed to ensure that all of our votes count, no matter what. The processes I saw in person were just one part of a much larger, months-long checklist. 

Here are some of the things my local elections officials do to keep my vote safe: 

• Access to the building is limited, and no one can enter without an escort.

• None of the ballot-marking devices or tabulation machines are connected to the internet, making them impossible to hack from the outside. 

• Backup systems are in place — everywhere. Tabulation machines are plugged in but can also run on battery. The Board of Elections building has backup generators prepared before voting begins. Each tabulation machine has two sets of USBs. 

• Redundancies, checks, and balances are in place at each stage of the process to protect the integrity of the vote count. 

Can sunlight outshine election lies? 

Two religious leaders — Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons of Interfaith Alliance and Ayana Ogunsunlade of The And Campaign — joined me for this visit. They are part of a movement of religious leaders who have been taking part in the elections process — including attending tests like this one and serving as poll workers. Similar efforts are underway in veteran communities around the country. The theory is that by sharing the transparency of the system with our communities, and by telling them what we are learning, we can ease concerns. 

There are signs that transparency can be the key to boosting confidence in our elections.

Campaigns are underway to educate voters about who exactly runs their elections — everyday people from their communities. Election officials use public notices, newsletters, and social media to show the process. (If I had wanted to, I could have even watched this demonstration from home on a livestream!) Experts urge voters to check information for themselves, including tracking their registration status and their mail-in ballots. 

In our divided political climate, I get the sense that we will not overcome skepticism of elections by simply out-arguing people. We can’t just call people out, we have to call them in. After meeting the team in Montgomery County, I have more confidence in the system than ever before. 

There is one other component of this visit that will stay with me — a feeling of camaraderie among those of us in the room. During the demonstration, we mostly stood quietly and observed closely. Sometimes we asked questions. But when the demonstration was over, we were all eager to shake hands, exchange business cards, and talk about what brought us there. Outside of that room, these Democrats, Republicans, and Independents each have different political goals. Inside, we had a common goal: to ensure that our election equipment and team are prepared to serve our community well. 

We didn’t linger long. Soon after the conclusion of the testing, we were escorted from the building and went our separate ways. In the coming days, each of us will cast our ballots. 

Regardless of who we’re each voting for, we’ll do so with a greater understanding of the process than ever before — and more confidence, too.