(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna has announced the successful completion of public testing on election equipment leading up to the November 4 City-School Election. The testing confirmed that all election equipment in Montgomery County is working properly and is ready for the upcoming election. Ozuna said during the tests, vote tabulators undergo a logic and accuracy test, which the public is invited to attend. Election officials test voting tabulators using sample ballots to ensure the tabulators are recording votes properly by feeding in correctly marked ballots and ballots that may be marked incorrectly. This includes ballots with any undervote, where a race is left blank, and ballots with an overvote, where a voter has marked too many candidates for a race.

Auditor Ozuna said “The completion of our comprehensive pre-election testing affirms that all voting equipment performed to the highest standards of accuracy, security, and reliability. Our focus remains on safeguarding the integrity of every vote cast and ensuring that the systems in place support a transparent and trustworthy election process.” Pre-election testing takes place before each election in all 99 counties and is mandated by Iowa law. To ensure transparency in the election process, the public is invited to attend and watch the testing, and members of Iowa’s recognized political parties are also invited.

Public pre-election equipment testing is just one of many safeguards in place to protect the integrity of Iowa elections. Other layers of Iowa’s election integrity include paper ballots, cybersecurity measures, post-election audits, voter ID, and bipartisan teams of poll workers. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says “Iowa has been repeatedly named a top state for election administration and integrity, and we credit that to our layered approach to election security. I’m especially thankful for Iowa’s county auditors and their staff for their dedication to administering safe, secure, and fair elections. They have conducted successful testing of voting equipment across the state, giving Iowans yet another reason to trust our elections process.”

Iowa’s City-School Election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Iowans can find their polling place at sos.iowa.gov. Iowans can also vote absentee in person or by mail. Voters can vote early, absentee, in person at their county auditors’ offices until Monday. November 4. Iowans planning to vote absentee are encouraged to return their absentee ballots at least a week before Election Day to ensure it is received by the county auditor by Election Day.