A320 Captain reported they refused an aircraft due to a recurring elevator control malfunction.

Narrative

I refused Aircraft X due to a safety of flight issue based on the MEL ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer) 1 Pitch Fault. When we attempted to complete the MEL pre-departure procedure to verify the elevator flight controls were operating correctly the left elevator did not move up or down. Local maintenance arrived at the aircraft soon after and we repeated the procedure line by line again and again it was confirmed that the left elevator was not moving. The airplane was then written up and taken out of service. Approximately 30-45 min later the aircraft was returned to service as airworthy. We returned to the aircraft and spoke with the two local mechanics who signed off the airplane. They stated that after the power was reset that the procedure was re-run and was successfully completed. I then did witness this procedure being re-run again and I did witness the successful outcome. But; after again reviewing the history of the initial write-up and the 30 day history of the aircraft I felt that the issue was not with the ELAC 1 computer but with something down the line such as wiring or the actuator that controlled the movement of the elevator. To get more information I elected to speak to the duty pilot and we also spoke with a Maintenance Control supervisor about the issue. I still did not feel comfortable with their explanations for why when we first ran the test we did not have the left elevator movement so I then refused the aircraft and entered an write-up in the AML (Aircraft Maintenance Logbook).Cause: The refusal was due to the failure of the MEL procedure then the failure of maintenance to provide a solution to the problem other than a power reset. This ELAC 1 had a prior history of issues that had been written up more than once.