Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — As part of the preparations for the 2021 municipal elections, county boards of elections across North Carolina once again will conduct special tests on all voting equipment to be used in the 2021 municipal elections. Logic and Accuracy (L&A) tests ensure each voting system will correctly count and tabulate every ballot cast.

The tests will occur before the October and November 2021 municipal elections, as they do before every election.

“Logic and Accuracy tests are one of many steps the State Board and county boards of elections take to secure North Carolina’s elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “By testing these machines, we make sure your vote counts.”

Before every election, county boards complete L&A testing to ensure proper coding of ballots and tabulation of votes for every contest.

In an L&A test, ballots of each style are coded for a mock election and run through the tabulator. The tests check the voting system’s ability to read each ballot style and the accuracy of the tabulator when counting votes.

Across the state, bipartisan teams work together to prepare the machines and ballots and conduct the tests.

After testing, county boards reset the equipment to ensure no L&A test information remains on the system heading into the elections. Voting machines are then sealed and stored in safe locations to prevent any tampering.

Currently, voting systems of two vendors – Election Systems & Software and Hart InterCivic – are used in North Carolina. Find more information on the State Board’s Voting Equipment webpage.

If you’re interested in viewing the process, L&A tests are open to the public. Please contact your county board of elections for details about L&A testing in your county.

“North Carolina’s voters should have confidence in their elections process,” Brinson Bell said. “L&A tests are an opportunity for our voters to see one of the many processes that ensure accurate and secure elections.”