Chapter Four — Public Testing Of The Election Equipment
A. Notification of Voting Equipment Test Date & Time
1. The Scope of Public Testing of Electronic Voting Equipment
All electronic voting equipment is tested before voting begins.
This includes both optical tabulators and voting machines available for assisted voting.
Locate the List of Voting Machines, by County
- The list of voting machines used in your county can be found on the State Board of Election website:
- 1. Go to: elections.il.gov/
- 2. Click on the screen tab Information For Voters in the upper left–hand corner.
- 3. A drop–down list appears.
- 4. Go to the last entry under Voting Systems listed in the last column, on the right side of the page.
- 5. Click on the last entry.
[As of the last update of this page of the guide, the last selection is: Election Authority Voting Equipment Information — 2021]. - 6. A PDF, which lists voting machines by county, will download to your computer.
- 7. Google each of the user manuals for the voting machines listed for your county.
2. Testing Before Election Day
On the first day of early voting at ALL early voting sites, the first action is that the voting equipment in the polling place is tested.
- The election authority (i.e., County Clerk or local Board of Election Commissioners) will send a notice of the date, time, and location of the test to:
- The local political parties,
- candidates, and
- local civic organizations concerned with elections.
The equipment tested includes not only tabulators, but also equipment available to assist voters with disabilities.
Public testing includes every election machine where a vote is recorded.
In–precinct electronic voting equipment is tested at least five days before Election Day, but all other election voting equipment for non–precinct polling sites are done "immediately" before voting begins.
3. Testing Voting Equipment Immediately Before Early Voting
- In addition to in–precinct, election day voting, all electronic voting equipment should be tested before being used for:
- Early voting.
- Temporary branch polling place voting.
- Student Union Voting at Public Universities.
- County jail voting.
- Nursing Homes & Other Care Facilities.
- Vote Center voting.
- Back–up equipment.
Vote by mail ballots can be used for voting a the county jail, voting at nursing homes & other care facilities without the need for electronic voting equipment.
But, IF the election authority intends to use electronic voting equipment at the county jail, nursing homes, or other care facilities, THEN that equipment must be publicly tested.
All electronic voting equipment that will be used before election day should be publicly tested immediately before use.
The election authority (i.e., County Clerk or local Board of Election Commissioners) is responsible not only for arranging a date and time for the testing but is also responsible for informing the county parties, municipal parties, jurisdictional parties, registered civic organizations, the press, and the public.