LWV ABC Observes Public Accuracy Testing in Anoka County

By Wes Volkenant, LWV ABC Treasurer

October 25, 2026

A few of our League of Women Voters Anoka Blaine Coon Rapids Area members recently took part in the Public Accuracy Testing (PAT) training put on by Sam Streukens and Mark Halvorson for LWV Minnesota. After completing an oath of conduct, we then went out, as trained non-partisan observers, to the PATs in several locations.

This year was the first time LWVMN was focused on the PAT process. Our mission, as summarized by Sam Streukens, was:  "LWVMN helps protect public trust by observing and documenting the public processes that make our elections secure. By witnessing these processes firsthand, we can collect and share accurate information about how elections are actually administered, rather than relying on claims or speculation. We will be documenting the process using a brief questionnaire, and learning more about our election safeguards."

I took the opportunity to attend the Anoka County absentee ballot machine testing with fellow ABC members, Lora Oberle and Maery Rose.  Later, I was joined by Laura Rades at Columbus (the same community we both moderated candidate forums for earlier this Fall), by LWV New Brighton Area President Grace Gee at Ham Lake, and at Centerville, by Roseville Area members Beth Reinhart and Ginny Seybold, as well as ABC member Laura Rades.  I was also able to observe the Blaine and Andover PATs, in a solo capacity.

Each situation was unique and individual to that community.  The Anoka County office uses two large tabulation machines to process every absentee ballot received at their offices. Both machines tested the same "test decks" of ballots representing 26 of the County's 128 precincts.  The ballot tapes of both machines were then compared to the intended results for the test ballots - for every precinct.  Teams of two from among the County's Elections staff and Election Judges (at least two Election Judges are required for the process) read off the 40-plus races, with one stating the expected result and the other checking every individual result, including the number of write-ins, over-votes and under-votes for each contest.  Lora, Maery and I helped as a team of three, checking the test results of four County precincts - ones from Anoka, Blaine, Fridley and Lino Lakes.

The cities conducted similar tests. Each city had one or more DS200 tabulating machines in their community. At Columbus and Centerville, just one DS200 was tested, as each city has only one voting precinct.  Blaine, with over 20 precincts, tested the required minimum of three machines.  Andover also tested three of its 10 precincts' machines, while Ham Lake, with six precincts, tested 4 DS200s.  Each location also had OmniScan machines, used for persons with audio or visual difficulties, although Blaine did not test its OmniScan in my presence. 

Anoka County, Blaine, Andover and Centerville PATs had just the required two election judges present. Ham Lake had seven election judges attend on a Thursday morning. They broke into 4 teams, with one joining a Deputy City Clerk, with each team taking on one DS200 machine.  Columbus, meeting on a Tuesday evening, proved to be unique, with 14 election judges in attendance, bringing the room total to nearly 20 that evening (and just one DS200 machine).  Their retiring Head Judge even got to do a mini-refresher judge's training while we waited, going over times for half-shifts, reminding them to avoid wearing red or blue, and other practical tips. 

Most of the city test decks of ballots were composed of 22 ballots. Some cities had 44 if the precinct was divided into two school districts. The Anoka County test decks had considerable variation. Over 600 test ballots were run through that morning.  Impressively, there were no errors at any of the test sites among the machines tested.  The OmniScan ballots were each created with perfectly filled-in circles. 

City Clerks and staff serve many roles for their communities.  Running election sites is just one of them.  Nonetheless, they and their Anoka County counterparts do their jobs with the utmost of professionalism.  Each location I attended had wonderful volunteers participating from the election judges to my fellow LWV observers.  There were no other public observers in attendance at these locations.  The lead person at each site, including Tom Hunt, Anoka County Elections Director, were gracious, pleased to have observers present, and very informative.  All allowed photos to be taken and no one refused to answer our questions. 

I am so pleased to have taken this opportunity in 2026 to observe a very key part of the behind-the-scenes process that makes our elections here in Anoka County both fair and accurate.  This is truly the democratic process completed with integrity.