COEUR d’ALENE — The DS850 tabulators have been checked and they're ready to process today's ballots.

The Kootenai County Elections Office held a demonstration Monday morning where the public was invited to witness the process officials use to prepare the machines for elections.

"T1" and "T2" passed the logic and accuracy test.

"We test them before every election," said elections supervisor Megan Bircher. "We put the program in and make sure that it's running and counting ballots the way it's supposed to be. We have a set number of (test) ballots that you know the outcome, and you can compare the report with those ballots to know that it's counting them properly."

With sounds reminiscent of distant jet planes or nearby espresso makers, the high-speed tabulators whirred through test decks of ballots as smoothly as expected. The machines have been used in the elections office since 2013.

“The point is to make sure our machines are running properly,” said elections manager Carrie Phillips. “We have our public test for the public to come and see how the machines work and they know what to expect.”

Phillips discussed how the testing works as Bircher handled test data input and operation of the machines. Phillips said the demonstrations are required by law as well as necessary to ensure election nights will go as planned.

During elections nights, the two machines are manned by teams of three — one person removes the ballots from collection boxes and "jogs them" a bit to get air between them to help with flow; the second is a full-time elections staffer who runs the machine; and the third takes counted ballots, places them in specially marked boxes and removes them from the processing room.

“That way we keep our flow clean," Phillips said. "There's no mix-up of where ballots are that have been counted and not counted.”

Phillips said today's school levy and bond results should be posted to the elections website, www.kcgov.us/elections, by 11 p.m.

"This is still automated and things can change. That's why we have two machines, that's why we tested them both," said Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon, who was among the seven or so who attended the demo. "If we run into difficulties it could be later, but we're not planning on difficulties. We plan on thinking positively and being done at 11."

Ballots will include levy questions for five school districts: Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Lakeland, Kootenai and Plummer-Worley. Coeur d'Alene voters will also have a bond to consider.

Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.