New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Subtitle V - State Board of Elections
Part 6210 - Routine Maintenance and Testing of Voting Systems, Operational Procedures, and Standards for Determining Valid Votes
Section 6210.8 - Test deck procedures

Universal Citation: 9 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 6210.8

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024

Each county board shall prepare a test deck to be used to verify that the voting system's election configuration and ballot configuration is correct and that the voting system will accurately cast and count votes within each individual ballot configuration.

(a) The ballots shall be voted with a pre-determined number of valid votes for each candidate, each write-in position, and each voting option on every proposal that appears on the ballot as certified by the county board in order to verify that the vote system is programmed to correctly count the ballots. The deck includes one or more ballots that are intended to fail, have been improperly voted, or which are voted in excess of the number allowed by law, and one or more ballots on which no votes are cast, in order to test the ability of the system to recognize and/or notify of an under or over vote. If there is more than one ballot configuration for an election, a separate test deck is created for each ballot configuration. In election districts that will utilize a single voting system for two or more ballot configurations, required testing shall consist of a different test deck for each ballot configuration to be utilized on such voting system, to ensure that the addition of multiple ballot configurations has not affected the accurate casting and counting of votes within individual ballot configurations.

(b) Test decks which include sub-decks are created once election configuration and ballot configuration tasks have been completed, and ballot configurations have been verified, utilizing detailed procedures for preparation of a test deck prescribed to the county board by the State Board. Using a tool or tools, (ie Excel) make a test script for each specific ballot within the test deck, such that when all test ballots within the test deck are completely cast it will accurately test all positions, undervotes, overvotes, write-in positions, propositions and ballots that are deliberately designed to fail.

(1) To create a test deck on an optical scan voting system, test ballots must be marked, following the pattern determined to sufficiently test the ballot programming, logic, and accuracy.
(i) For optical scan voting systems, the test deck includes one or more ballots on which two or more votes are cast for a candidate whose name appears on the ballot more than once for the same office in order to test the ability of the system to count only the first of such votes for the candidate.

(2) To create a test deck for DRE systems, the creation of a test script is required, so that the pattern of votes can be followed, to facilitate the manual casting of same.
(i) For DRE systems, the test deck includes one or more ballots in which an attempt is made to cast two or more votes for a candidate whose name appears on the ballot more than once for the same office in order to test the ability of the system to accurately cast the voters choice(s) for such office.

(3) Assign each ballot in the script a unique ballot number.

(4) Calculate the number of ballots required to conduct each test. This calculation is the minimum number of ballots that must be cast on each voting machine or system where such ballot configuration is programmed, pursuant to section 6210.2(c) of this Part.

(c) Upon creation of a test deck and prior to use in pre-qualification testing, the test deck must be validated by casting the ballots in the test deck on a voting machine or system, printing out the tabulation report and comparing same to the predetermined expected results for that test deck to ensure accuracy. Any corrections to the test deck must be made prior to its use in pre-qualification testing.

(d) Once a test deck has been validated, test decks are run by a bi-partisan team on each voting system for which that particular ballot configuration is valid. The team shall enter at least one ballot from each sub-deck using each feature intended for people with disabilities, and enter at least one ballot from each sub-deck using each language provided on the unit. While one team member casts 1 votes for the test, the other member shall monitor that votes are cast correctly.

(1) The test shall be documented by the bi-partisan team, on a log to be prescribed by the State Board, and the team shall affix their signatures to the log. The log shall include but not be limited to:
(i) The date the test was executed.

(ii) The names of the persons who performed the test and recorded the results.

(iii) The serial number of the machine on which the test was executed.

(iv) The protective counter number of the machine on which the test was executed as it appeared both at the beginning and conclusion of testing.

(v) The name or description of the test performed.

(vi) The version number of the software under test.

(vii) The test result, either pass if the results match the expected results exactly, or fail if there is even one discrepancy.

(e) The bi-partisan team shall compare the accuracy of the results reported by the voting system to the expected results and determine if the machine passed or failed. Any discrepancies indicate a failure and must be investigated.

(1) If a test deck is run on a DRE, and the pre-determined vote count does not compare to the results reported by the voting system, the bi-partisan team shall document the problem, and then compare the paper audit trail transactions to the unique test ballot scripts, to be sure votes were cast correctly. Any corrections to the test deck itself, or to the casting of the test deck shall be made, and the test deck shall be re-run until two error-free test results are produced, pursuant to section 6210.2(c)(1) of this Part.

(2) If a test deck is run on an optical scan voting system, and the pre-determined vote count does not match the computer generated tabulation, then the bi-partisan team shall document the problem and compare the unique ballot script pattern with the test deck pattern to ensure that the test deck was made correctly and that all ballots were run. Any corrections to the test deck itself, or to the casting of the test deck, shall be made and the test deck shall be re-run until two error-free test results are produced, pursuant to section 6210.2(c)(1) of this Part.

(3) If the test deck and voting system fail to produce two consecutive error-free results, the system shall not be used until such time as the problem is resolved in a manner consistent with vendor documentation and State Board procedure.

(f) For DRE systems, the paper audit trail records with the accumulation report shall be signed by the testing team, then bound and placed in secure storage. For optical scan voting systems, the results report shall be signed by the bi-partisan team, and placed in secure storage. After all voting systems upon which a particular ballot configuration is valid have been tested, the test deck shall be stored with all corresponding reports, audit trails, log sheets and system logs required to be produced and reviewed pursuant to paragraph (e)(3) of this section.

(g) For central count paper-based systems, after entering all election ballot codes and creating header cards, if required by the software, the following verification procedures shall be performed:

(1) Place one ballot from the appropriate ballot configuration behind each header card.

(2) Process the complete set of header cards containing the single ballots against the absentee counting system and ballot counting program.

(3) If the software rejects a header or ballot card, the cause of the error shall be ascertained and corrected.

(4) Re-process all cards which generated errors to verify correction.

(5) At the discretion of and mutual agreement of a county board's commissioners, a resolution may be adopted for a specific election, which may provide that ballots be canvassed manually, rather than by using the central count paper-based voting system. Such resolution shall be filed with the county board's official minutes, and notice of the resolution and decision shall be provided in writing, to the State Board and to all party chairs and candidates, whose names appear on the ballots to be counted manually. The county board shall give written notice, by first class mail, to the State Board and to all party chairs and candidates who are lawfully entitled to have their names appear on the ballots, of such resolution.

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