HARRISBURG, PA — In a scene more reminiscent of a board game than a government procedure, Pennsylvania election officials gathered Friday to launch the state’s latest risk-limiting audit (RLA) — a highly technical, statistics-driven process designed to verify the accuracy of the Nov. 4 municipal election results.
Ten Department of State employees took turns rolling 10-sided dice to generate a 20-digit “seed number,” the random code used to determine which batches of ballots counties must hand-audit in the coming days. The roll, broadcast via livestream, is a transparency measure intended to demonstrate that the selection process cannot be manipulated.
Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks called RLAs “the highest standard of comprehensive election audits,” noting that they provide a scientific method for confirming — with a high degree of confidence — that the reported outcome is correct. This marks Pennsylvania’s seventh statewide RLA since the program began.
This year’s audit focuses on the retention race for Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow, selected during a separate random drawing on Nov. 7. County officials will manually count ballots from randomly selected batches and compare them to machine-tabulated results. Known as a batch-comparison audit, the process verifies whether paper ballots were accurately recorded and ensures that a full hand count would match the certified totals.
The RLA runs parallel to the state’s long-standing statutory requirement that counties conduct a separate audit examining at least 2% of ballots, or 2,000 ballots, whichever is fewer. Both measures are intended to reinforce public confidence in Pennsylvania’s election system.
Counties must complete the RLA by Nov. 20, with final certification of all results due to the Department of State by Nov. 24. Additional information about the audit process is available at vote.pa.gov/audits.
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