Voting Equipment
This page contains information about the voting equipment that is used in the Town of Florence. The Wisconsin Elections Commission receives many questions about the use of Electronic Voting Equipment in Wisconsin, if it is mandatory, if it is tested, etc.
You can visit their frequently asked questions page for more information.Wisconsin Elections Commission - FAQ Regarding the Use of Electronic Voting Equipment in Wisconsin ElectionsWisconsin Elections Commission - Voting Equipment Security
The information below is specific to the Town of Florence.
You can visit their frequently asked questions page for more information.Wisconsin Elections Commission - FAQ Regarding the Use of Electronic Voting Equipment in Wisconsin ElectionsWisconsin Elections Commission - Voting Equipment Security
The information below is specific to the Town of Florence.
Information on Election Equipment, Concerns & Mitigated Responses
Beginning with the April 4, 2022 Spring Election, the Town of Florence (and all Florence County Polling Places) will be using brand new voting equipment. All voting will be done on paper ballots that the voter will then insert into the voting equipment, which is called a tabulator. Before the Election, the Town of Florence wants to share some information regarding the new equipment.
Voting Equipment Used in the Town of Florence:
Public Participation The Town of Florence held an Open House on Monday, March 7 for all Florence County residents to learn about the tabulator, ask questions, and learn how to mark a ballot. In addition to the Open House, the Town of Florence held a Mock-Practice Election for the Public to participate in on Thursday, March 10. Those electors participating in the event marked ballots and fed them into the machine. After the polls were closed for the practice election, the ballots were removed and hand tallied to verify that the tabulator results were the same results as when the ballots were hand tallied. They matched exactly. Both of these opportunities were held to allow voters to familiarize themselves with the new voting equipment prior to election day. The Town of Florence understands that electors may still have some concerns with the tabulator, so the Town has developed plans and practices that will mitigate these concerns. Here is how the Town of Florence is Mitigating Concerns Regarding the Machine: Concern: The machine can mark ballots when it is not in Accessible Voting Mode. Mitigated Response: The Accessible Voting option can only print on a ballot if there is an ink cartridge installed in that printer. No ink cartridge will be installed during the election except when it is necessary for a voter using the accessibility voting mode. It cannot print on ballots if there isn’t an ink cartridge installed. When the accessible voting printer prints, it is done in black ink. It only has a black ink cartridge, which will not be installed. Blue pens will be available for voters at the polls to mark their ballots. Concern: A voter could put more than one ballot through the machine. Mitigated Response: The machine itself will not allow two ballots to be submitted at one time. The machine will always be attended by one or more election workers, so a voter will be given access to submit their ballot. Then they will be done voting and leave the polling place. Concern: The machine can be connected to the internet, phone or wireless network. Mitigated Response: The Town of Florence machine does not have a modem. There is not an antenna internally or externally on the machine. There is a door on the machine labeled the “ports door” where the modem would be hooked up and where there is a usb port. No one should access the machine via the USB, and there is no need to access the port where the modem could be plugged in as there is no modem. A seal will be placed on the “ports door,” and the seal will always remain on that door. It will be documented on the inspector’s statement from the election with the other seals that are recorded for the official record. Concern: A ballot could be counted/run through the machine more than once. Mitigated Response: Ballots are inserted into the tabulator to be read. The Ballot Review enabled mode displays how the machine is reading the ballot. The ballot itself is not counted until the voter presses the “cast” button. Once the ballot is cast, it is deposited into the ballot bin. The ballot bin has a security seal and that seal is not broken until the end of Election Day after the polls close. Each ballot can only be run through one time. Concern: The machine can add votes to the report that are not there. Mitigated Response: The number of ballots and voters are checked multiple times during the election process:
If someone still has concerns, the entire election process is done in public, so it can be observed by anyone:
Hand-Counting Ballots An audit of electronic voting machines is randomly conducted after each general election. The Town of Florence was selected after the November 2020 Election. During the audit, which was held in public, the election inspectors counted by hand all votes cast on the machine. The tally of those votes counted by hand matched the tally printed by the machine. The purpose of the audit is to ensure that voting equipment in Wisconsin is accurately counting ballots according to federal standards, which is 1 error in 500,000 ballots. The Town of Florence committed to hand-counting all paper ballots for highly contested races for the 2022 Election cycle to verify that the results from the voting equipment match the hand counted totals of all the paper ballots. The date and time for the hand-count audit of the equipment was posted at the polling place on Election Day, on the Town Office Door and on the Town’s website www.townofflorencewisconsin.com. For each voluntary hand-count audit, the hand-count numbers matched the numbers reported by the tabulator on the machine. The Town of Florence is responsible for the integrity of the Elections held here in Florence, and the Town has a plan to make sure each election is accurate and secure. If you have any questions, please contact the Town of Florence office at 715-528-3595 or email jklumpp@florencewi.gov
Public Participation The Town of Florence held an Open House on Monday, March 7 for all Florence County residents to learn about the tabulator, ask questions, and learn how to mark a ballot. In addition to the Open House, the Town of Florence held a Mock-Practice Election for the Public to participate in on Thursday, March 10. Those electors participating in the event marked ballots and fed them into the machine. After the polls were closed for the practice election, the ballots were removed and hand tallied to verify that the tabulator results were the same results as when the ballots were hand tallied. They matched exactly. Both of these opportunities were held to allow voters to familiarize themselves with the new voting equipment prior to election day. The Town of Florence understands that electors may still have some concerns with the tabulator, so the Town has developed plans and practices that will mitigate these concerns. Here is how the Town of Florence is Mitigating Concerns Regarding the Machine: Concern: The machine can mark ballots when it is not in Accessible Voting Mode. Mitigated Response: The Accessible Voting option can only print on a ballot if there is an ink cartridge installed in that printer. No ink cartridge will be installed during the election except when it is necessary for a voter using the accessibility voting mode. It cannot print on ballots if there isn’t an ink cartridge installed. When the accessible voting printer prints, it is done in black ink. It only has a black ink cartridge, which will not be installed. Blue pens will be available for voters at the polls to mark their ballots. Concern: A voter could put more than one ballot through the machine. Mitigated Response: The machine itself will not allow two ballots to be submitted at one time. The machine will always be attended by one or more election workers, so a voter will be given access to submit their ballot. Then they will be done voting and leave the polling place. Concern: The machine can be connected to the internet, phone or wireless network. Mitigated Response: The Town of Florence machine does not have a modem. There is not an antenna internally or externally on the machine. There is a door on the machine labeled the “ports door” where the modem would be hooked up and where there is a usb port. No one should access the machine via the USB, and there is no need to access the port where the modem could be plugged in as there is no modem. A seal will be placed on the “ports door,” and the seal will always remain on that door. It will be documented on the inspector’s statement from the election with the other seals that are recorded for the official record. Concern: A ballot could be counted/run through the machine more than once. Mitigated Response: Ballots are inserted into the tabulator to be read. The Ballot Review enabled mode displays how the machine is reading the ballot. The ballot itself is not counted until the voter presses the “cast” button. Once the ballot is cast, it is deposited into the ballot bin. The ballot bin has a security seal and that seal is not broken until the end of Election Day after the polls close. Each ballot can only be run through one time. Concern: The machine can add votes to the report that are not there. Mitigated Response: The number of ballots and voters are checked multiple times during the election process:
If someone still has concerns, the entire election process is done in public, so it can be observed by anyone:
Hand-Counting Ballots An audit of electronic voting machines is randomly conducted after each general election. The Town of Florence was selected after the November 2020 Election. During the audit, which was held in public, the election inspectors counted by hand all votes cast on the machine. The tally of those votes counted by hand matched the tally printed by the machine. The purpose of the audit is to ensure that voting equipment in Wisconsin is accurately counting ballots according to federal standards, which is 1 error in 500,000 ballots. The Town of Florence committed to hand-counting all paper ballots for highly contested races for the 2022 Election cycle to verify that the results from the voting equipment match the hand counted totals of all the paper ballots. The date and time for the hand-count audit of the equipment was posted at the polling place on Election Day, on the Town Office Door and on the Town’s website www.townofflorencewisconsin.com. For each voluntary hand-count audit, the hand-count numbers matched the numbers reported by the tabulator on the machine. The Town of Florence is responsible for the integrity of the Elections held here in Florence, and the Town has a plan to make sure each election is accurate and secure. If you have any questions, please contact the Town of Florence office at 715-528-3595 or email jklumpp@florencewi.gov
Voluntary Audit of Election Equipment
TOWN OF FLORENCE
Public Notice
Office of the Clerk
Audit of Election Equipment used in the
November 8, 2022 General Election
For November General Elections the Wisconsin Elections Commission randomly chooses at least one municipality in each county to do a Post-Election Voting Equipment Audit, which is a hand count of all of the ballots cast in the Election. Reporting units and contests for audit will be randomly selected on November 9, 2022.
If the Town of Florence is not chosen by the WEC to do an official Post-Election Voting Equipment Audit, the Town of Florence will hold their
Voluntary Voting Equipment Audit
Thursday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Florence Community Center
If the Town of Florence is chosen for the WEC to do an official Post-Election Voting Equipment Audit, the date and time of the Official audit will be posted on November 10 by 1:00 p.m.
The Town of Florence utilizes the Dominion Image Cast Evolution (ICE) voting system.
TOWN OF FLORENCE
Shelly VanPembrook
Clerk/Treasurer
Town of Florence
Public Notice Office of the Clerk
Local Election Equipment Audit Matches Hand Tally
After the November 8, 2022 General Election, the Town of Florence Election Inspectors performed a hand tallying/counting of the November 8, 2022 ballots on November 10, 2022. The date and time of this local audit was noticed online, at the Town Office and at the Polls on Election Day. This local audit was to determine whether or not the machine results were correctly tabulated.
Notice is hereby given that there were three races that were hand tallied: Governor, US Senate and US Congress. The results matched and are as follows:
Governor:
Evers/Rodrigues – Tabulator Total 335; Hand Tally Total 335
Michels/Roth – Tabulator Total 795; Hand Tally Total 795
Beglinger – Tabulator Total 13; Hand Tally Total 13
US Senator
Barnes – Tabulator Total 320; Hand Tally Total 320
Johnson – Tabulator Total 826; Hand Tally Total 826
US Congress
Ausman – Tabulator Total 307; Hand Tally Total 307
Tiffany – Tabulator Total 836; Hand Tally Total 836
Certified by: Teresa Koehn, Chief Inspector & Election Inspectors: Janice Gehlhoff, Renee Grunewald & Tim Grunewald
11-10-22 at 4:30 p.m.
Official Voting Equipment Audit
Taken from the Wisconsin Elections Commission website Memo to Clerks 06-14-24 - Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Electronic Voting Equipment in Wisconsin Elections
Is the accuracy and performance of voting machines and electronic voting systems tested after an election to confirm continued compliance? Yes. Wisconsin statutes require a post-election audit of voting systems used in the state after each general election. The audit is designed to assess the accuracy and performance of each voting system approved for use in the state. The audit is a public meeting and proper notice must be provided at least 48 hours in advance.
A representative sample of reporting units that use each type of voting equipment are included in the selection process, See Wis. Stat. § 7.08(6), which is the state embodiment of § 301(a)(5) of HAVA. The parameters of each audit are established by the Commission, and the Commission members voted to expand their own requirements at the last general election by requiring the audit of equipment in 10% of the statewide reporting units. During this process, elections workers conduct an independent hand count of paper ballots and tally the results of the contests. The final hand-count tally total is compared to the election night voting system results. Audit materials are submitted to the Commission for review. Any discrepancies are investigated by Commission staff.
Commission staff may request that a vendor investigate and provide explanations for any unexplained discrepancies. The Commission may, at its sole discretion, choose to re-test any voting system should unexplainable issues arise in the audit. Both pre-election testing and post-election audits have repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of electronic voting equipment used in Wisconsin.
Taken from the Wisconsin Elections Commission website (Clerk Memo 10-23-24 - General Reminders for the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election):
Voting Equipment Audit: The WEC will audit at least 10% of all reporting units statewide for the voting equipment audit after the Nov. 5, 2024, General Election. As a result, approximately 370 reporting units will be randomly selected for audits. The cities of Milwaukee and Madison will have no more than four reporting units selected, the next 20 largest municipalities by registered voter population will have no more than three reporting units selected, and all other municipalities will have no more than one reporting unit selected. The random drawing of the selected contests and municipalities will occur on Nov. 6, 2024. All selected municipalities will be notified of their selection and provided with training and general information about the audit program.
Note: The last official audit for voting equipment in the Town of Florence was for the November 2020 Election.
Is the accuracy and performance of voting machines and electronic voting systems tested after an election to confirm continued compliance? Yes. Wisconsin statutes require a post-election audit of voting systems used in the state after each general election. The audit is designed to assess the accuracy and performance of each voting system approved for use in the state. The audit is a public meeting and proper notice must be provided at least 48 hours in advance.
A representative sample of reporting units that use each type of voting equipment are included in the selection process, See Wis. Stat. § 7.08(6), which is the state embodiment of § 301(a)(5) of HAVA. The parameters of each audit are established by the Commission, and the Commission members voted to expand their own requirements at the last general election by requiring the audit of equipment in 10% of the statewide reporting units. During this process, elections workers conduct an independent hand count of paper ballots and tally the results of the contests. The final hand-count tally total is compared to the election night voting system results. Audit materials are submitted to the Commission for review. Any discrepancies are investigated by Commission staff.
Commission staff may request that a vendor investigate and provide explanations for any unexplained discrepancies. The Commission may, at its sole discretion, choose to re-test any voting system should unexplainable issues arise in the audit. Both pre-election testing and post-election audits have repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of electronic voting equipment used in Wisconsin.
Taken from the Wisconsin Elections Commission website (Clerk Memo 10-23-24 - General Reminders for the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election):
Voting Equipment Audit: The WEC will audit at least 10% of all reporting units statewide for the voting equipment audit after the Nov. 5, 2024, General Election. As a result, approximately 370 reporting units will be randomly selected for audits. The cities of Milwaukee and Madison will have no more than four reporting units selected, the next 20 largest municipalities by registered voter population will have no more than three reporting units selected, and all other municipalities will have no more than one reporting unit selected. The random drawing of the selected contests and municipalities will occur on Nov. 6, 2024. All selected municipalities will be notified of their selection and provided with training and general information about the audit program.
Note: The last official audit for voting equipment in the Town of Florence was for the November 2020 Election.
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