The Lane County Elections Office wants voters to peek behind the curtain and see what actually happens when they vote.
At a media event on Friday, county staff showcased how they retrieve ballots, verify signatures and count the votes. All this work culminates in the primary election next week.
To ensure the process is secure and unbiased, multiple workers of different political affiliations are present at each step.
Ballots are first retrieved from drop-boxes and placed into bins with security seals. Those boxes are transported into the elections office where the security seals are verified. The ballots are then taken to a signature verification machine, which sorts ballots with verifiable signatures from ones that have to be verified by hand.
Once signatures are verified, the ballots are removed from their envelopes, unfolded and counted. These opened ballots are then run through a scanner that counts the votes.
Lane County Clerk Tommy Gong, who previously served as a long-time elections official in California, said the public is more interested than ever in knowing that their ballots are secure.
“This is our opportunity to really show the public all the checks and balances, all of the processes that we do to ensure that the results of the election, it reflects the will of the voters,” he said.
To ensure your ballot is counted for the May 19 primary election, take your ballot to your county elections office or any ballot drop-box by 8 p.m. election day.
