After what seems like an interminable election season, the day is finally almost here, as many voters will head to the polls on November 5 to cast their ballots for a range of local, state, and national elections.  The phrase “many voters” is used purposefully, as early voting has been underway, and those numbers have been above average numbers across the state, including in southeast Idaho.  On the other hand, “many voters” also implies that voting is not at a level of 100% of eligible voters, which is an enduring mystery to those who are invested in election outcomes.

While no one will likely ever be able to solve the voter apathy problem in a democracy where voting is a privilege, not an obligation, county officials in Oneida County have been working hard to ensure that the voting process is as transparent as possible for the public.  On Monday evening, County Clerk Lon Colton and Deputy Clerks Natalie Murphy, Shanci Dorius, and Mandi Armstrong held a public “Logic and Accuracy” test of the county’s voting equipment.  The L&A test is designed to ensure that the equipment is functioning properly ahead of voting day in order to minimize any problems that might occur on the day of.

In the case of Oneida County, the secondary purpose was to give those who were interested a chance to see how the voting process—from ballot to tally—works.  Over the course of American history, there have been relatively few instances of massive voter fraud, and even fewer in the modern era (one possibly apocryphal example in the nineteenth century is the use of alcohol to bribe indigents into voting booths, which is one alleged cause of Edgar Allen Poe’s mysterious death).   However, while proven instances are very few, rumors and suspicions of vote-rigging have always been rife.

The L&A demonstration allowed voters to see exactly how the process works, and where any weak points might or might not be in the process.  It also gave people a chance to ask direct questions about how ballots and tabulation were handled.  

The test involved a set of ballots that were marked in a systematic pattern, which was applied to a set of actual 2024 Oneida county ballots.  The ballots themselves were marked in a way that would “spoil” them for any use but testing.  The ballots were double checked by hands-on members of the public who tallied what the exact vote totals should be, and then fed through the ballot counting machines.  The machine printed a receipt which contained the ballot results, and was then compared against the hand-counted figures.  In every case, the two matched with one another.  

The test involved 28 sample ballots, which is a large enough sample to be statistically predictive, but small enough to identify where any errors may have occurred in the process.  As it has in the past, Oneida county’s election equipment should be more than up to the task of handling the hundreds of ballots it will process next Tuesday.  

Those in attendance raised a number of questions about the process that Colton, Murphy, Dorius, and Armstrong answered.  One of the main issues settled was the potential for any external breaches of the voting equipment.  Colton stressed that the machines do not use any wireless connectivity, and are therefore not exploitable though external digital means.  In other words, they cannot be “hacked” remotely as there is no mechanism in place by which that could occur.  The results are recorded on a set of “data sticks,” which wipe the machine’s memory from the last time they were used in order to store clean data from the current election.  The sticks are then transferred to a “hardened laptop,” which has single-use functionality for the process, and is not internet enabled.  The layers of security and isolation from external threats are the results of decades worth of improvements in election security, and reflect the best practices of data security as industry standards.  While the process will undoubtedly evolve as technology moves on, it is as secure as it can possibly be for this moment in time.

Absentee ballots were another issue that was addressed by the Clerk’s office.  Questions about how signatures were verified, and the process for ensuring mail-in ballots were accounted for and connected to the voter in question was detailed.  Colton explained that they have had people come into the office in the past to verify signatures that may have raised questions or deviated from the official signatures on file.  Sometimes, medical issues, physical situations, or even the process of aging can change the appearance of a voter’s signature.  “If we have any concerns at all, our priority is to reach out,” Colton said.  

The issue of write-in candidates was raised, as it has recently been a matter of discussion within the county.  There are two lines for “write-in” candidates on Oneida County ballots, one for the presidential race, where there are a number of qualified write-ins, and one in the Sheriff’s race, where David Murphy qualified as a write-in in the race against Doug Williams.  The write-in status only applies to candidates that have filed for the election as write-in candidates (as opposed to the winners of primaries, or candidates for third parties who have been officially selected).  As Colton explained “Mickey Mouse has received an awful lot of votes over the years, but he’s never filed so it doesn’t count.”

Any names written in on the “write-in” line are compared to the official filings, and counted for those qualified candidates.  In the case of Oneida specifically, Colton explained that common sense was used for spellings and intent.  “Dave or David—those are the same to me if the last name is right,” Colton said.  

The Sheriff’s race is the only county level race with multiple candidates in Oneida.  On the national ticket, there are nine presidential candidates.  Mike Simpson’s U.S. Representative seat in District 2 is contested by three other candidates, and Douglas Pickett and Damian Rodriguez are in a contested race for District 27 Seat A.  In addition, a ballot measure to the state constitution regarding voting laws already on the books, and a two-point proposition regarding open primaries and ranked choice general election voting are on the ballot.  

The official Idaho Voters Guide, which explains the ballot measure and proposition in detail, can be found at https://sos.idaho.gov/elections/publications/2024_voter_pamphlet.pdf.

Polls will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5 at the Event Center in Malad City.