PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state primary election is weeks away but the city's elections workers and a small group of volunteers are already at work behind the scenes ensuring that every vote is safe and secure. 

 

Whether you line up at the polls or drop ballots in the mail, this team is making sure every vote counts through a number of checks and balances from testing machines, sealing equipment, and processing thousands of ballots by hand. 

 

Two memory cards are uploaded to each tabulator, and a "zero tape" is printed showing all races at zero to confirm no prior votes have been recorded. The city has a tabulator for each of the 14 precincts, plus a spare machine.

 

The election workers then run 100 Democratic and 100 Republican sample ballots, randomly marked by staff, which becomes the official test deck. The results are compared to the manual counts to determine if the tabulators are accurately reading and counting ballots. 

 

Tested machines are secured with a red seal, so no one can tamper with the memory cards, placed in a bag sealed by yellow tape, locked in the city vault, and transported to and from polling places by police officers on election day.

 

At the polls, wardens verify machines start at zero and print an end-of-day results tape, with copies posted at the polls and returned to City Hall.

 

"There's so much involved in preparing for an election to make them safe and secure, which we know by testing, all of the votes are accurate," said City Clerk Michele Benjamin. 

 

"We've had people who have contested the accuracy of the machines and requested recounts. Recounts are all done by hand, and they have proven time after time that our tabulators are safe, accurate, and secure." 

 

The clerk's office has four paid employees and relies heavily on volunteers to help with elections including processing ballots, with batches of 1,600, 800 and smaller groups still being handled as voter cards arrive daily, she said. 

 

Voting is so important, and with so many moving parts, volunteers take pride in making sure every step is completed carefully and correctly, volunteer Pat Scheufler said. 

 

"I take great pride in coming here and helping out so, the process is good for the voter. I'm at the polls, too, so that's a good thing. And I know what we've done here, so I think it helps me at the polls as well," she said. 

 

Ensuring elections are accurate and safe is not easy and the clerk's staff are capable of doing it but also have other duties so the volunteers are there to help.  

 

"This whole voting process is important to our community and our democracy," Kate O'Brien said, emphasizing the "zillion" steps involved and the many other responsibilities the clerk's office handles beyond elections. 

 

The state primary election will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 1, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

 

Voters will decide on the following offices: U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor's Councillor, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney and Register of Probate.

 

Saturday, Aug. 22, is the deadline to register to vote or to make changes to voter registration. City Hall, located at 70 Allen St., will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 22.

 

To be eligible to vote in the state primary election, Pittsfield residents must be properly registered by the deadline. 

 

Absentee ballots are currently available. A person is eligible to vote by absentee ballot if they are a registered voter and will be unable to vote at the polls on election day for any one of the following three reasons:

Voters must first complete an absentee ballot application. The deadline to vote in person by absentee ballot is noon on Monday, Aug. 31. Voters who wish to vote by absentee ballot may vote by mail or in person.