County to conduct ballot counting test

EPHRATA — Grant County elections officials will be conducting a test run of their election equipment this Thursday, June 28.

According to Dedra Osborne, election administrator for Grant County, 484 ballots from across the county will be marked, with officials knowing what the results will be, and then run through the county’s electronic vote tabulating machine to see if they are the same.

“We’re going to do a random pull of ballots from all precincts,” Osborne said.

That will allow the county to test all eight of Grant County’s ballots, reflecting the different mix of candidates and districts countywide.

The test is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., and “if it runs smoothly, it should take 20 minutes,” Osborne said.

The public is invited to observe, and officials from the state’s political parties have been invited to watch, Osborne said. Because state and federal elected officials will appear on the ballot, Osborne also said that someone from the Secretary of State’s office in Olympia will be present to observe as well.

When the test is completed, Osborne said the 484 ballots as well as the computer card used to control the counting will be sealed.

“When the election is over, they’ll be held for a while until destroyed,” she said.

County election officials keep ballots with federal officials for one year after an election is certified, while local ballots are kept for only 60 days. After that, the ballots are disposed of in the county landfill.

The public is invited to watch beginning 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, at the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata, Room 203.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.