ATLANTA –
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger introduced Thursday that state election officers will conduct an audit of his personal race to fulfill an audit requirement in state legislation.
The audit stems from a legislation handed in 2019, not from any issues about any issues or the integrity of the state’s election outcomes. An audit is required for basic elections in even-numbered years on a race chosen by the secretary of state. It should be accomplished earlier than the election outcomes are licensed.
“Today’s about guaranteeing confidence within the final result of our elections in Georgia and actually throughout our complete nation,” Raffensperger mentioned.
The counties should start the audit on Nov. 17, and the secretary of state’s workplace is asking them to finish it by the following day, Raffensperger mentioned.
He mentioned he selected the secretary of state race as a result of it had the widest margin, which will make the audit simpler for counties to hold out. Raffensperger, a Republican, beat state Democratic state House Rep. Bee Nguyen by greater than 350,000 votes.
The legislation requires a risk-limiting audit, which checks the outcomes recorded by vote-tallying scanners in opposition to a hand-count of a random pattern of ballots. According to the statistical foundation for such audits, the smaller the margin between candidates in a race, the bigger the pattern of ballots that should initially be audited. A risk-limiting audit doesn’t typically require a full hand recount of all ballots solid.
Counties should put up the date, time and placement of the audit on the elections workplace web site or, if that does not exist, in one other distinguished spot. While members of the general public and the information media can attend the audit, nobody however audit employees who’ve taken an oath could contact the ballots or poll containers.
Raffensperger mentioned he plans to work with state lawmakers and the State Election Board to boost the variety of races audited in future elections “to extend the arrogance in our elections.”
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Associated Press author Sudhin Thanawala contributed reporting.