Secretary of State attends public accuracy test, unveils high absentee turnout

BLAINE, Minn. (GRAY) – With 19 days remaining until election day, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon attended a public accuracy test in Blaine.

The tests are conducted in counties across the state ahead of each election to ensure the reliability of every voting machine.

"In literally hundreds of places around Minnesota—every single locality in Minnesota that uses and owns elections equipment has to do this," Simon said.

The tests are designed to trick the machines if possible.

"We're going to have overvotes, we're going to have undervotes. We're going to have blank ballots. We're going to have ballots that have marks on them to make sure that no one can actually put a ballot that doesn't belong in that precinct in a machine," said Cathy Sorenson with the City of Blaine.

A specific deck of ballots is used to test the machines. At the end of each test, election judges will tally up the votes and check that they match what was present in the deck.

If they pass, the machines are secured until election day.

"Before and after this testing is completed, these machines will be kept safe under lock and key." said Simon.

At no point are the machines connected to internet.

This round of public accuracy testing also comes as early voters are already casting ballots statewide. Simon shared the latest absentee voting numbers, an encouraging sign for voter turnout.

"The number of transmitted absentee ballots is 716,858, and the number accepted so far statewide is 337,633," he said, "in case you're wondering, people always are wondering, that is way above the pace of eight years ago."

Simon explained that 2020 was an outlier for absentee voting, but that it seems to have created more familiarity with the absentee system.