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JACKSON – The Northampton County Board of Elections will conduct logic and accuracy (L&A) tests on Wednesday, Oct. 4 on voting systems that will be used in the upcoming municipal elections.

L&A testing ensures each voting system will correctly count and tabulate each ballot cast.

“We test every tabulator that will be used in the election to ensure that it is properly coded for our ballots and accurately counts votes in every contest” said Spinosa Clements, director of the Northampton County Board of Elections.

The towns of Conway, Garysburg, Gaston, Jackson, Lasker, Rich Square, Seaboard, Severn, and Woodland will be electing its town council members on Tuesday, Nov. 7. This election cycle also includes board members to the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District, which serves Northampton municipalities in the western end of the county.

The municipal polling places will be open on Nov. 7 from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

In L&A testing, 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.

A bipartisan team oversees the preparation of the machines and ballots and conducts the tests.

After testing, election staff will reset the equipment to ensure no L&A test information remains on the system heading into the elections.

L&A tests are open to the public. The public may view the

equipment preparation and testing, as long as they do not interfere with the process. Those tests will be conducted beginning at 11 a.m. on Oct. 4 at the Northampton County Commissioners meeting room, located at 9495 NC Hwy 305, Jackson.