OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — During the 2020 presidential election, we saw allegations of widespread voter fraud, but all of them were proven wrong. The demand for secure, accurate and transparent elections remains.
That's why in Ottawa County, the process of testing voting equipment is made public as we prepare for a possible presidential rematch and contentious local races.
On Monday, election machines kept humming as roughly a dozen tabulators counted dummy ballots.
"Our process is not as simple as I would have thought. So there's a lot that goes into it," Steven Reendeers said.
He was one of nine people who stopped by the Filmore Complex to learn more about how Ottawa County's elections work.
"I didn't fill out the name. One time, I didn't catch it in time when I went to feed it into the ballot. And luckily, the ballot machine caught it for me and spat it right back out. And it was like, "Hey, you got to fill out the name," Reendeers said.
"We have to test these machines for accuracy to ensure that they are counting votes correctly and that they are not counting things that they're not supposed to be counting, such as a mistake or an overvote on a ballot," County Clerk Justin Roebuck said.
The county clerk knows how vital this work is, so he opened up the test run to the general public.
"I've learned that my beliefs about election processes, being fair and open and honest, are true. So that's confirmed that for me," Kevin O'Brien said.
This year, the county is rolling out another new layer of security: watermarked ballots.
"I mean, similarly to a $20 bill, right, that you hold up to the light, and you can see a watermark in it. So, this ballot paper is watermarked in the same way so that a voter can identify it as an official ballot.
Still, both sides have concerns heading into November. O'Brien, who is a Democrat and precinct delegate, worries history may repeat itself.
"I worry that there will be a similar controversy as we had in 2020," O'Brien added.
Reendeers, a Republican, fears there's a chance for people to cheat.
"I would believe that they would have to do it the day of, basically. So either day or during testing, maybe because these machines, to my knowledge, aren't connected to the internet," Reendeers explained.
Roebuck explains the machines are not hooked up to the internet. There's just a USB drive kept under lock and key.
"I'm not nervous. Do I have a lot of work to do? Yes. But at the end of the day, I know that we're going to be prepared for this, and I think you know that that is due to the amazing team," Roebuck said.
The county clerk explains the machines tested Monday will be sealed away until they're sent to the county's early voting centers for the presidential primary.
