PEKIN, Ill. — In preparation for the upcoming primary election in Illinois, Tazewell County put it’s election equipment to the test.
The state-mandated public test was conducted by Liberty Systems LLC of Tremont, Illinois.
Ken Gibson, the owner of the company, said Friday’s test was actually the 2nd run through for the voting machines.
“For every election, we are required to do a pre-test which we did several weeks ago. After that we are required to do a public test,” said Gibson.
In the wake of the 2016 Russian hacking incidents, County Clerk John Ackerman said he hopes public tests like these help to put minds at ease when it comes to the security of their votes.
“When the citizens believe that their vote is being heard, we are going to have a system for collecting that vote and we need to prove to the citizens that it actually works and that it is doing what it is supposed to do,” said Ackerman.
Illinois’ Democratic primary is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17 with 184 delegates up for grabs.
