Public testing of electronic voting machine in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee election officials are gearing up November 5. They spent much of Saturday testing electronic voting equipment that will be used to count your votes.

“The public tests are part of the statutory process of election preparation,” said Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of Milwaukee Election Commission.

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Public testing a MilwaukeeThe vote counting machines created peace of mind for the voters.

“The process was very impressive,” Lloyd Bigger said of South Milwaukee. “They were very detailed in their responses. The way the process should go, as well as the operation of the equipment.”

“I’m actually from Waukesha County,” Doug Kwikkel said. “To witness that process and how demanding people here really are is really comforting to me.”

Election officials said the machines being tested are just some of the equipment that will be used on Election Day. They will be used at the polls and for counting the ballots. But the documents processed on Saturday are not of any voter; THE Milwaukee Election Commission used approximately 5,000 ballots.

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“They are pre-marked, and those ballots are secure and completely separate from other ballots,” Gutiérrez said. “We create a test package that provides every possible vote that could be on a ballot.”

Gutiérrez said the countless ballots that have already been cast cannot be opened until election day and are stored in a secure space.

“It’s really important and we prioritize security, integrity and transparency. We will prioritize that speed any day,” she said.

It already existed high turnout for early voting in Milwaukee County. FOX6 News asked Gutiérrez when he thinks the results will be in on Election Day.

“Hopefully it always ends at a reasonable time. All I can say is sometime after midnight,” she said.