Town Clerk Emily Mitchell examines voting machine test results on Thursday against a spreadsheet she created before running 100 ballots through each of the eight machines the town will have available for Tuesday’s  Primary Election.  WILLIAM F. GALVIN PHOTO 

HARWICH – Town Clerk Emily Mitchell spent last Thursday afternoon checking the town’s voting machines to assure accuracy in the count before they are put to use in the state primary election on Tuesday. New tabular voting equipment approved by town meeting in May for $75,000 won’t be purchased until after the state election in November. 

“The vendor said these machines are working well,” Mitchell said of the current equipment.

But the commonwealth requires that all voting machines be tested annually and the results be forwarded to the Secretary of State’s Office. Mitchell said all eight machines tested correctly. The plan is to use four of the town’s machines in the primary election, one for each precinct, and have four spares available for use if necessary.

The tests are done by taking 50 Democratic and 50 Republican ballots and running them through the machines, including ballots from same-day voting, early voting, and vote-by-mail. When the votes are counted they are compared against a master spreadsheet prepared by the town clerk that contains counts of the votes on the cards. Even write-in votes are included in the process.

“We want to make sure every circumstance gets accounted for,” Mitchell said.

The public was invited to observe the process. Mitchell said she notified the Democratic and Republican Town Committee chairs of the scheduled trial and sent a separate notice to election workers informing them they could come and observe the test.      

The tests were conducted by poll worker Steven Tribastone and Jamie Goodwin, manager of Channel 18, the government channel, who has assisted in testing the voting machines with former Town Clerk Anita Doucette in past years. Several of poll workers came to observe the process.

Mitchell has also put together a comprehensive election officer training manual for the poll workers. It defines the role of an election warden, inspector and other poll workers. It details instructions for addressing voters  on how to use the equipment, providing assistance if necessary to voters in reading and marking the ballot, and the process of checking out after voting.

 Voters entering the polls this year will be greeted by a poll worker with a tablet for the first time. The voter’s name, address, precinct and the ballot selected, Democratic or Republican, will be entered into the computer pad. A label will be printed out containing the information. 

When checking out voters, poll workers will have two binder books; one will be where the label is placed showing the individual has voted, and the traditional check-out book with the voter information in which the person casting the ballot will be checked off. The book will serve as a backup log showing who has voted, and it will serve as another measure of accuracy when comparing the number of votes cast to the number of people who voted, she said.

“We’re erring on the side of extra redundancy,” Mitchell said of keeping track of who voted and the number of ballots cast.

Cafeteria staff at Chatham High School in 1967 - Gerry Custodie, David Eldridge, Jennie Cardoza Roderick and Mrs. Brooks. COURTESY OF JODI CARDOZA.

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