The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration held its routine public test of voting machines Tuesday, but a unique element this time around was three women attending and recording the process.
Suzy Barnhart, of Merrillville, stood behind the yellow caution tape line separating the public viewing and testing areas. She held her cellphone at eye level, video recording the workers testing the voting machines.
As workers moved through the process, she moved to get a better camera angle. With each move, she inched closer toward the workers and pushed against the caution tape line.
Barnhart said she is the president of Secure Indiana Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on election integrity, and was hired by a former President Donald Trump’s Political Action Committee to monitor the 2021 special election held in Georgia.
“I have a particular interest in this,” Barnhart said.
Regardless of the “political side of the aisle you’re on” there are questions about the 2020 election, Barnhart said. The results of the 2020 election were certified by each state and Congress and President Joe Biden won the election. Unfounded claims contesting vote counts led to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
When asked why she came to view the public test, Barnhart said “part of being an American” is being able to take part in the Democratic process.
Barnhart said while she does not think “there is anything nefarious going on” in Lake County elections, she came to watch and learn. She said she has no particular plans with the video footage she was taking.
“I am not here to discover anything. I am here to learn and watch,” Barnhart said.
Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Director Michelle Fajman said this was the first time members of the public watched the public test of voting machines, which is done ahead of each election.
The election board staff, board members and mechanics tested 61 machines Tuesday. Those testing stood in pairs over a stack of five machines.
They first did a “zero vote” on each machine to ensure the machines didn’t have a vote registered, Fajman said. Then, they went through and voted for each candidate on the ballot to make sure the votes for each candidate registered, she said.
The testers then tallied and totaled the votes to make sure everything is tabulated correctly, Fajman said.
The testers then went through and did another “zero vote” to clear the machines ahead of use by the public, Fajman said. The testers also did the same process with absentee ballots, to make sure those votes are counted properly, she said.
Board member John Reed, who participated in the test, said the process “went well.” He enjoyed ensuring the right candidates were listed under each race and that the candidates were listed in the order the board randomly selected.
The whole process took five hours, Reed said, and it takes a few hours because the testers have to vote for each candidate for every precinct for each party.
Reed, a Republican, said he appreciated the members of the public who came to watch the test.
“There’s no problem with that. There should be someone there to watch,” Reed said.
Board President Kevin Smith, a Democrat, also participated in the test and said he has done so in the past. The public test allows the public to see the process and how the bipartisan staff works together, he said.
“It’s always good to participate in the process and confirming what I already know that the equipment works,” Smith said.
