002-8 Wyo. Code R. §§ 8-6 - Preparation, Testing, and Sealing and Certification of Optical Scan Voting Machines
(a) Testing and
sealing of the optical scan machines may begin after the official ballots are
received from the printer.
(i)
Preparation.
(A) The memory
cards will be programmed so the machines will function as follows:
(I) Blank ballots are returned to the voter
for action.
(II) Over voted ballots
are returned to the voter for action.
(III) If the voter under voted a race or
races, the ballot will not be returned to the voter, but will be automatically
accepted by the machine.
(IV)
Write-in votes on any ballot will cause the ballot to be sorted to a write-in
collection bin.
(B) Test
decks shall be prepared using official ballots for the election. The test deck
can be produced manually by the County Clerk or by a qualified vendor. Test
decks are defined as pre-marked optical-scan ballots marked in a manner that
will test whether:
(I) Each proposal or
candidate can receive votes.
(II)
Marked selections are attributed to the correct choice.
(III) The machine correctly registers a non
vote.
(IV) The machine does not
count an over vote.
(V) Properly
voted ballots are accurately counted.
(VI) The machine is properly programmed to
handle ballots according to rules.
(C) The prepared test decks will be manually
tabulated and recorded on a test deck comparative sheet. The manual results
will be compared with the results generated by the optical scan
machine.
(D) Logic and accuracy
testing, as required by the optical scan machine manufacturer, shall be
conducted.
(ii)
Testing.
(A)
Public
Test. The County Clerk shall notify in writing, as specified in
W.S.
22-10-108, the chairman of each political
party informing them of the date, time, and place for testing the voting
machines. The political party representatives and representatives of
independent candidates may be present at the testing of the voting machines.
Other witnesses may also be present.
(B) The test decks will be run through each
machine to be used in the election.
(I) When
a blank ballot or over voted ballot is rejected by the machine and returned to
the voter for action, the over ride button should be pressed to accept the
ballot. The action should appear on the audit tape showing an over voted or
blank ballot was accepted.
(C) After all ballots have been inserted,
testers will close the polls and request a results tape.
(I) The results on the results tape are
compared to the manual tabulation on the test deck comparative sheet. The
results tape of the test will verify that the test started with zero ballots
recorded in the machine and that the results match the comparative
sheet.
(II) Each machine testing
certificate shall be signed by the County Clerk and representatives of each
major political party, if any, that are present for the public test and kept on
file in the County Clerk's Office for a minimum of 22 months or until any
election contest affected by the ballots has been terminated.
(III) The County Clerk may require all
witnesses to the public test to sign an attendance sheet that attests to their
presence and witnessing of the testing of the voting systems
equipment.
(D) After the
test is completed, the machine must be reset to zero and a tape run to display
zero ballots or votes in the machine memory.
(E) If any machine displays discrepancies
that cannot be resolved, that particular machine shall be replaced or fixed
before it is used in an election. No certificate of testing will be issued for
the machine until it has successfully passed testing with public
witnesses.
(iii)
Sealing.
(A) At the conclusion
of a successful public test, the optical-scan machine will be sealed by the
County Clerk with the memory card in place and in the presence of the political
party representatives, if any. Alternatively, the tested memory cards can be
sealed separately from the optical-scan machine. The County Clerk and
representatives of each major political party, if any, that are present for the
public test shall sign a certification listing the seal number of the machine
or the memory card and attesting to the sealing which shall be kept on file in
the County Clerk's office for a minimum of 22 months or until any election
contest affected by the ballots has been terminated.
(iv)
Certification to the Secretary of
State.
The County Clerk shall attest in writing to the Secretary of State that the optical-scan machines have been publicly tested and are ready for the election.
(v)
Records.
(A) All test decks,
comparative sheets, results tapes and signed testing documents and
certifications shall be secured and kept on file in the County Clerk's Office
for a minimum of 22 months or until any election contest affected by the
ballots has been terminated.
Notes
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