The California Secretary of State’s Office is inviting the counties’ clerk/registrars of voters to opt in to a County Test Environment (CTE), where they can test and confirm fixes, changes and enhancements in their election systems as well as conduct training.
To date, eight counties have opted in and begun using the test environment to ensure that their election management systems (EMS) connect and communicate with the state’s system. All eight have confirmed the ability to conduct end-to-end testing and training.
The deadline for counties to opt in is Feb. 1. The first VoteCal release of the year is scheduled for March 10. Counties that have opted in do not need to register again.
“Participating CTE counties will work with the SOS (Secretary of State’s Office) to create a ‘backup copy’ of their EMS production database(s) on Feb. 8, 2019, the same date and time that VoteCal takes a production backup, in order to create a synchronized test environment,” says a notice from the state office. That same site lists the specific requirements for counties and instructs them how to sign up and participate.
