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JACKSON – The Northampton County Board of Elections will conduct logic and accuracy (L&A) tests 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.

The testing is scheduled to begin at 12 noon on Tuesday, Oct. 1 in the Commissioners Meeting Room located in the Faison Administrative Building (9495 NC Hwy 305, Jackson).

For those wishing to witness the process, 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.

“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 testing comes in advance of the 2024 General Election, set for Tuesday, Nov. 5. All polling places across the county will be open that day from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

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