How does Johnson County count your vote? You can watch officials test the election equipment

Early voting for Kansas’ primary election is underway in Johnson County, and officials are preparing for Election Day on Aug. 2.

For voters who are interested in what the county’s election office does to keep ballots safe and secure, officials will be conducting a test of the voter equipment that is open to the public, so anyone can see the process and the equipment for themselves.

Fred Sherman, Johnson County’s election commissioner, said that election staff will test every piece of equipment using test scenarios that could occur during the election to make sure the machines are working properly and providing accurate results.

“We make sure that it’s functioning and calibrated correctly,” he said. “We will also do a public test that is open to the public.”

That public test is happening soon: at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at 2101 E. Kansas City Road in Olathe.

Why is election security on the mind?

Election security in Johnson County has made its way into headlines lately after Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden suggested that his staff should transport ballots from drop boxes on Election Day and accused Johnson County’s top lawyer of violating a law that limits how voters can return early ballots. The sheriff didn’t provide evidence for his accusation.

Hayden also recently told a group of sheriffs in Las Vegas that he is investigating Johnson County’s election results, but Sherman from the county election office has told The Star that no subpoenas or warrants have been issued.

Both Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Sherman, the county election commissioner, have repeatedly affirmed the security of county elections, and there have been no reports of fraud.

Voters who still have concerns will have a chance to see the process up close at the upcoming public test. Election officials will also be present to answer questions.

How are ballots counted in Johnson County?

Johnson County uses election equipment from Electric Systems and Software, including a touch screen ballot marking device, which prints out paper ballots, and a ballot scanner, which scans each ballot.

When voters arrive at their polling place, they will either be handed a paper ballot or be guided to a digital ballot marking machine, which are typically reserved for disabled voters and available at nearly all polling sites.

Once all the ballots are scanned, they are stored on an encrypted thumb drive. A supervising judge at each polling location then brings the thumb drive back to the election office after it has been verified, and poll workers have signed off on the count of total ballots at that polling site.

The election results are then tabulated at the election office for the final results. To get a detailed explanation of the Johnson County election process, visit here.

To learn more about how votes are counted throughout the Kansas City metro, check out this guide here.

If you have other election related questions, you can ask a Star reporter at kcq@kcstar.com.

Kynala Phillips

The Kansas City Star

Kynala Phillips was a Service Journalism Reporter at The Kansas City Star, where she worked to answer readers questions about the resources and services in the community. She attended the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is originally from Madison, Wisconsin.