UPPER NAZARETH TWP., Pa. — Northampton County employees began pre-election logic and accuracy testing of its voting machines Monday amid pressure to avoid another vote where they cause turbulence.
All of the county's 298 ExpressVote XL machines set to be used were lined up in rows inside the county elections office’s warehouse in Upper Nazareth, each sporting a brown paper bag full of pre-filled test ballots.
County employees, guided by workers from manufacturer ES&S, began the tedious work of copying the votes from each ballot into the machines.
“We're testing every iteration that we can of the ballot as much as we can without making the tests over-burdensome."Northampton County Elections Registrar Chris Commini
When they finish, digitally stored results should match the pre-marked ballots.
A yellow checklist on each machine laying out the up-to-32-step testing process, matched to the machine’s precinct and serial number, is a new addition for this year.
It's a manifestation of heightened scrutiny after trouble last November.
During that election, an employee of voting machine manufacturer ES&S mislabeled retention races for state Superior Court judges Jack Panella and Victor P. Stabile on paper receipts recording a backup copy of a voter’s ballot, swapping their names.
'They didn't test'
All votes were recorded correctly, county officials said, both digitally and in the printed receipts’ machine-readable barcodes, which election officials scan to retrieve lost results.
But voters, typically asked to confirm that the paper receipt shows their intended selections, saw their votes for Panela and Stabille appear under the other candidate’s name.
It was the sort of error logic and accuracy checks are meant to catch before polls open.
“The machines were not the problem, the programming was."Northampton County Commissioner Tom Giovanni
However, the county’s previous procedures meant none of their testers voted “yes” in one retention race and “no” in the other.
With the same thing printed under both candidates’ names, elections registrar Chris Commini said, it was impossible to tell they had switched places.
“The machines were not the problem, the programming was," county Commissioner Tom Giovanni, a member of the county council’s election integrity committee, said.
"But the programming could have been tested. They didn't test for different combinations. That's why we had a problem.”
This time, Commini said, the elections office will use a more complex pattern of test votes that will create more variety and uncover errors such as last year’s.
“We're testing every iteration that we can of the ballot as much as we can without making the tests over-burdensome,” Commini said.
Additionally, officials have added new steps for supervisors to complete, and vowed to ensure every step is actually completed.
Scrutiny means smoother primary
Where last year’s logic and accuracy testing drew a total of “maybe like two people,” Commini said, the start of testing Monday drew the biggest crowd he had seen since he took office a year and a half ago.
The scrutiny, officials said, means the April 23 primary probably will go smoothly.
“We have more eyes on it than ever,” c“We're here to show the public that everyone's invested in this. You may have some hiccups — no matter what, nothing runs perfect. From what I’ve seen… I think [the primary] should be decent.”Northampton County Elections Commission Vice Chairman Scott Hough
“We have more eyes on it than ever,” county Elections Commission Vice Chairman Scott Hough said. “We're here to show the public that everyone's invested in this.”
Giovanni said, “You may have some hiccups — no matter what, nothing runs perfect. From what I’ve seen… I think [the primary] should be decent.”
This month’s vote should decide whether the county keeps or replaces its ExpressVote XL machines, Giovanni said.
“Like Councilman [Ron] Heckman says, ‘Three strikes and you’re out,’” Giovanni said.
Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure previously defended his decision to keep using the machines after last year’s turbulence, saying he did not want to introduce an unfamiliar system shortly before a high-stakes, high-turnout presidential election.
The chairman of Northampton County’s Republican committee, Glenn Geissinger, called for the county to dump ES&S in favor of voting machines with a better track record.
Because there are no ballot questions for Northampton County in the April 23 primary, the same error cannot appear in the upcoming election.
In a typical race, the same mistake would appear on paper backups as, say, a candidate for mayor appearing to receive a vote for Senate.
County employees will continue testing voting machines through Thursday at the elections warehouse near Gracedale in Upper Nazareth Township.
Officials said they'll share the results Friday.
The process is open to the public.
