Voting Machine Testing Protects Votes, Ensures Accuracy

Pennsylvania’s elections work because of the proven systems in place to protect your vote. This includes things like regular election equipment testing and public inspections of voting machines, where people from all political parties are invited to observe the process.

These systems are tested twice, once at the federal and once at the state level, before going into service, as reported by Votebeat PA and Spotlight PA, which gave a full rundown (“Elections 101: Everything you need to know about Pa.’s voting machines, how the state keeps them safe, and more,” Feb. 27, 2024) of the checks and balances in place to ensure elections are safe, secure, accurate and fair.

The state’s Election Code also requires the Department of State to examine and certify any voting machine before counties are allowed to purchase it. This happens on top of the certification already done by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

“All of the voting equipment is required to be certified by both the federal and state government, so there are two layers of certification that equipment must go through. That’s a good thing,” said Jeff Greenburg, a senior advisor on election administration for Committee of Seventy who previously ran Mercer County’s elections.

Committee of Seventy is a SecureVotePA partner.

Transparency is key. Voters can see the testing and certification for themselves. All certification documentation is public and can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website. This testing is open to the public to observe.

“I think the key is there are many opportunities for citizens to view the steps in this process,” Greenburg said. “The best thing a voter can do is educate themselves about the process in their county.”

Read the full Votebeat PA and Spotlight PA report to learn more about the rigorous testing each county performs on voting machines to protect the integrity of the system and ensure accuracy in the results.