RLA, Ballot Image Audits of Special Election Confirm Election Outcome

Atlanta - Beginning Wednesday, county election officials in all 6 counties in the July 28th Special Election for US House of Representatives District 13 hand counted randomly selected ballots as part of a risk limiting audit (RLA). The purpose of the audit was to confirm the accuracy of the results.

A risk limit of 5% was set for the RLA, a limit that is among the best in the country for jurisdictions who conduct RLAs. Additionally, a ballot image audit was conducted that reviewed all ballots cast in the race, which confirmed the results with 100% accuracy. 

Both the RLA and the ballot image audit confirmed the outcome of the contest.

For the RLA, county election officials audited a total of 34 batches of ballots. Of the 34 batches, 32 had no deviation from the original candidate vote totals. The 2 batches with a discrepancy were within an expected margin of error for a hand count.

Below is a comparison of the vote totals for each candidate for the batches that were audited:

The ballot image audit reviewed ballot images of all 21,222 ballots cast in the contest and confirmed 100% accuracy.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger praised the outcome of the audit.

“Georgia doesn't ask voters to simply trust the results, we verify them,” said Raffensperger. “Our risk-limiting audits and statewide ballot image audits provide independent confirmation that every eligible vote is counted accurately. These results once again demonstrate why Georgia's election system is the best in the nation.”

Reports from the ballot image audit can be found here:

https://sos.ga.gov/page/elections-audit-information

Click here for a report with audit summary data from the RLA.