Cobb County election staff will publicly test every voting machine before a single ballot is cast in the Nov. 3 general election.

The process, called logic-and-accuracy testing, requires staff to run test ballots with known results through the same touchscreens and scanners voters will use. Machines that report the correct results pass. Failures get pulled and fixed or replaced. Georgia law requires the testing before every election under O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-379.6(c) and 21-2-379.25, and it applies to all 159 counties.

The testing is open to the public.

Any Cobb County resident who wants to watch can contact the county elections office to find out when it's scheduled. Jackie Killings, president of the League of Women Voters of Georgia, described the process in a Sept. 8 East Cobb News column, the sixth installment in the organization's "How Georgia Votes" series. Killings urged residents to take advantage of the transparency.

"I think most Georgians would be surprised, in the best way, by how much checking happens before the first voter walks in," Killings wrote. "They do it in public because the process was built to be watched."

What happens after testing

Once a machine passes, election staff lock it with numbered seals and log those numbers. The seals are checked again when equipment arrives at the polling place. Logs travel with each machine. If a seal number doesn't match the log, officials investigate before the equipment is used, according to Killings.

That chain of custody is the second layer of security. Killings wrote that the paperwork follows every machine and every ballot container from the moment it is sealed.

How to observe

Cobb County Elections and Voter Registration, directed by Leigh Phillips, handles the scheduling. The specific date for Cobb's logic-and-accuracy testing ahead of the Nov. 3 general election has not been publicly posted as of Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Residents can call 770-528-2581 or email [email protected] to ask when testing will take place. The elections office is at 995 Roswell St. NE in Marietta and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Advance voting details

Advance voting for the Nov. 3 general election runs Oct. 13–30. Weekday hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday voting on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24 runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday voting on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 runs noon to 5 p.m.

The East Cobb Government Service Center at 4400 Lower Roswell Rd. is among the advance voting locations and offers Sunday hours. Advance voting ends Friday, Oct. 30, four days before Election Day.