Marin County gears up for election day with voting machine testing

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- With just over a month until election day, Marin County election officials were hard at work Wednesday testing their county's voting machines.

"We want voters to feel confident. And, thankfully, Marin County has a long reputation of voter confidence in our elections," said Lynda Roberts.

Roberts is with Marin's Registrar of Voters.

She says while the process is required by law, the county also views it as a crucial effort to provide as much transparency around how they handle their elections.

A key part are the nonpartisan observers - volunteers from around the county.

MORE: DHS report warns extremists pose threat to election workers and voting process

"Their mission is to go through this process and verify that they reviewed the reports and that everything is kosher, and that we're ready now to count official ballots," Roberts said.

Wednesday's testing took about 2.5 hours.

But Roberts says her team has been working to get ready for November's election for months.

"It is far more detailed. And the fact that she said they start six months in advance - it's very specific, very precise, all the rules and regulations that they go through," said observer Michelle Boudreau.

Several of the observers told us they felt compelled to be a part of this process.

MORE: San Francisco mayor election: Top candidates share vision for city, crime, homelessness with ABC7

A way to not only perform their civic duty, but be an active part in the way our government works.

"It is what democracy is all about. One person, one vote. And the knowing that your vote counts," said G. Hardy Acree.

As in with the rest of the state, voters in Marin County will get a ballot by mail.

Those will be sent out starting on Monday.

And on Tuesday, drop boxes will officially be opened for people to drop off their ballots.