Post-Election Audits required via manual tally - get involved!

[Neal McBurnett <neal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think a very good and interesting opportunity to do quality control
on the election is the newly-mandated Post-Election Audit via a manual
tally.  We worked hard to get this provision set into law last spring,
and it is already in effect.

We need to do our best to see that the best possible precedent is set
in how they are done.  Sign up as a pollwatcher, find out when they
are happening in your county, and help see that they are done right.

I've included the text of both the relevant statute and rule below,
but here are some highlights.

Manual audits must be done "Following each primary, general,
coordinated, or congressional district vacancy election" (statute)."

The Secretary of State shall notify the designated election official
which voting devices and which race or races on the ballots have been
selected for auditing purposes, ... based on a random selection.

Generally, 1% of the machines must be audited.  In most cases, all
votes counted on the machine are audited, so depending on the luck of
the draw, that will lead to somewhere around 1% of the votes being
audited.  Unfortunately, there is a huge, seemingly illegal exception
in the rules, though, for central-count systems, which only need to
_recount_ _100_ votes on one machine - more on that in a separate
email....

For our past experience in Boulder, see 
 http://www.coloradovoter.net/moin.cgi/ManualCountAudit
 http://www.coloradovoter.net/moin.cgi/ManualCountAuditStVrain

Neal McBurnett                 http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/
Signed and/or sealed mail encouraged.  GPG/PGP Keyid: 2C9EBA60

--- Colorado Revised Statues ---
 1-7-514. Random audit.

(1) (a) (I) Following each primary, general, coordinated, or congressional district vacancy election, the secretary of state shall publicly initiate a manual random audit to be conducted by each county and shall randomly select not less than one percent of the voting devices used in each county; except that, where a central count voting device is in use in the county, the rules promulgated by the secretary pursuant to subsection (5) of this section shall require an audit of a specified percentage of ballots counted within the county.

(II) For an election taking place in a county prior to the date the county has satisfied the requirements of section 1-5-802, the audit shall be for the purpose of comparing the manual tallies of the ballots counted by each voting device selected for each such audit with the corresponding tallies recorded directly by each such device.

(III) For an election taking place in a county on or after the date the county has satisfied the requirements of section 1-5-802, the audit shall be conducted for the purpose of comparing the manual tallies of the voter-verified paper records produced or employed by each voting device selected for such audit with the corresponding ballot tallies recorded directly by each such device.

(b) To the extent practicable, no voting device that is used for the random audit required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) shall be used for conducting the testing of voting devices for recount purposes required by section 1-10.5-102 (3) (a).

(2) (a) Upon completion of the audit required by subsection (1) of this section, if there is any discrepancy between the manual tallies, as specified in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (II) or (III) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, as applicable, of the voting device selected for the audit, and the corresponding tallies recorded by such devices, and the discrepancy is not able to be accounted for by voter error, the county clerk and recorder, in consultation with the canvass board of the county established pursuant to section 1-10-101, shall investigate the discrepancy and shall take such remedial action as necessary in accordance with its powers under this title.

(b) Upon receiving any written complaint from a registered elector from within the county containing credible evidence concerning a problem with a voting device, the canvass board along with the county clerk and recorder shall investigate the complaint and take such remedial action as necessary in accordance with its powers under this title.

(c) The county clerk and recorder shall promptly report to the secretary of state the results of any completed audit or investigation conducted pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection (2).

(3) The secretary of state shall post the results of any completed audit or investigation conducted pursuant to the requirements of subsection (2) of this section on the official website of the department of state not later than twenty-four hours after receiving the results of the completed audit or investigation. The clerk and recorder of the affected county may timely post the results of the completed audit or investigation on the official website of the county. The secretary shall publish once in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the state notification to the public that the results have been posted on the department's website.

(4) Any audit conducted in accordance with the requirements of this section shall be observed by at least two members of the canvass board of the county.

(5) The secretary of state shall promulgate such rules, in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., as may be necessary to administer and enforce any requirement of this section, including any rules necessary to provide guidance to the counties in conducting any audit required by this section. The rules shall account for:

(a) The number of ballots cast in the county;

(b) An audit of each type of voting device utilized by the county; and

(c) The confidentiality of the ballots cast by the electors.
History

Source: L. 2005: Entire section added, p. 1409, § 27, effective June 6; entire section added, p. 1444, § 27, effective June 6.

--- Colorado Secretary of State Election Rules 8 CCR 1505-1, rule 11.5.4 ---