TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - As election day gets closer, words like "hacking" and "interference" have popped up in talks across the country.
Naturally, some people may have concerns about the voting process, including how to keep machines from being tampered with and ways to avoid "voter fraud."
Voter fraud happens when someone tries to vote more than once by impersonating someone else or creating an alias. Other types of voter fraud include officials manipulating ballots or using tactics to exclude groups of voters.
There's also "vote buying," which is when people pay others to vote for the candidates they want in office.
Leon County officials want to make sure every vote counts in November and that voter fraud isn't an issue.
Chris Moore, Assistant Supervisor of Elections, said, "We also test all of our central count machines, which are the vote-by-mail high-speed scanners, and the audit system. So, everything should match up. We know the totals that are on these ballots, and the machines must add up to that total -- or else, we have to replace them."
Friday, the supervisor of elections office showed off how it checks the accuracy of equipment going out for early voting. The office randomly pulls ten machines from its fleet and tests them against sample ballots.
The office said it hasn't had to replace a machine in recent memory. The office is required to test voting equipment every year it supervises an election.
As the countdown to the November 8th election begins, here are some dates to mark on your calendar.
Early voting in Georgia starts Monday, and runs until November 4th. Meanwhile in Florida, voter registration has been extended until this Tuesday.
Early voting in the Sunshine State will run from October 24th to November 6th.
