Here’s how voting equipment is tested in Minnesota

All counties and municipalities in Minnesota are required by state law to conduct “public accuracy testing” at least three days before using voting machines in an election. This helps ensure that Minnesota elections are “free, fair, secure and accurate,” according to the Secretary of State’s website.

While there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud here in Minnesota in the last presidential election, these tests have taken on greater urgency as some members of the public question the accuracy of the election results, particularly after former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election . This sentiment is likely to continue into this election on November 5th.

An overwhelming majority of Minnesotans are confident that votes will be counted accurately in November’s presidential election, according to the latest Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll. About 50% of likely voters said they were very confident there would be an accurate count, and another 29% said they were moderately confident.

But there are party political differences. 99 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Independents said they were confident the votes would be counted correctly. Among Republican pollsters, 60% said they were confident the count would be accurate, while about 40% said they had little or no confidence.

Star Tribune journalists recently tracked public accuracy tests in Hennepin County and Minneapolis. These tests are also open to the public. The tests essentially document how voting machines respond to various scenarios, including ballots that were intentionally marked with errors.

The results are in: The tests showed that the machines were 100% accurate.