Election Audit

An election audit is a structured review of election processes, ballots, or results carried out after voting concludes to confirm that the reported outcome matches the votes actually cast and that procedures complied with law. Audits differ from recounts: a recount re-tallies ballots to confirm a margin, while an audit checks the integrity of the system itself, often using statistical sampling.

Several common types exist:

• Tabulation audits compare a hand count of a sample of paper ballots against machine-reported totals.
• Risk-limiting audits (RLAs), developed by statistician Philip Stark in the late 2000s, sample ballots until there is strong statistical evidence the reported winner actually won, or until a full hand count is triggered. Colorado became the first U.S. state to require RLAs statewide, beginning in 2017.
• Procedural or compliance audits review chain-of-custody, voter rolls, poll-book reconciliation, and equipment logs.
• Forensic audits examine equipment, software, and ballot images, usually in response to a specific dispute.

Audits are a core recommendation of international observation bodies such as the OSCE/ODIHR and the Carter Center, and are referenced in the 2002 OSCE Copenhagen commitments on transparent elections. In the United States, audit requirements are set by state law and vary widely; the U.S. Election Assistance Commission publishes voluntary guidance. The 2005 Carter–Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform explicitly endorsed post-election audits of voter-verifiable paper records.

Audits depend on a reliable paper trail. Jurisdictions using direct-recording electronic machines without voter-verified paper ballots cannot perform a meaningful ballot-level audit, which is one reason most U.S. states have moved back to paper-based systems since the mid-2010s.

Properly conducted audits build public confidence; politically motivated reviews lacking transparent methodology, chain-of-custody, or qualified personnel — sometimes labeled "audits" — generally fail to meet professional standards set by bodies such as the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Brennan Center for Justice.