2017 -- H 5704

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LC001568

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS --POST-ELECTION AUDITS

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Ajello, Regunberg, Chippendale, Craven, and Tanzi

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2017

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Chapter 17-19 of the General Laws entitled "Conduct of Election and

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Voting Equipment, and Supplies" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     17-19-37.4. Post-election audits.

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     (a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that auditing of election

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results is necessary to ensure effective election administration and public confidence in the

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election results. Further, risk-limiting audits provide a more effective manner of conducting

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audits than traditional audit methods in that risk-limiting audit methods typically require only

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limited resources for election races with wide margins of victory while investing greater

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resources in close races.

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     (b) Commencing in 2018 the board is required to conduct risk-limiting audits after all

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primary, general and special elections in accordance with the requirements of this section.

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     (c) The audit program shall be conducted as follows:

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     (1) The board shall determine what local, multijurisdictional, statewide and federal

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contests are subject to a risk-limiting audit;

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     (2) The board shall provide at least a five (5) day public notice of the time and place of

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the random selection of the audit units to be manually tallied and of the times and places of the

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audit;

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     (3) The board shall make available to the public a report of the vote tabulating device

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results for the contest, including the results for each audit unit in the contest, prior to the random

 

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selection of audit units to be manually tallied and prior to the commencement of the audit;

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     (4) The state board in conjunction with the local boards shall conduct the audit upon

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tabulation of the unofficial final results as provided in §§17-19-36 and 17-19-37 and complete the

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audit within seven (7) days after the election; and

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     (5) The board in conjunction with the local boards shall conduct the audit in public view

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by hand without the use of electronic scanning equipment according to rules established by the

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state board.

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     (d) If a risk-limiting audit of a contest leads to a full manual tally of the ballots cast using

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the voting system, the vote counts according to that manual tally shall replace the vote counts

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reported pursuant to §§17-19-36 and 17-19-3 7 for the purpose of determining the official contest

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results pursuant to §§17-22-5.2 and 17-22-6.

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     (e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

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     (1) "Audit unit" means a precinct, a set of ballots, or a single ballot. A precinct, a set of

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ballots, or a single ballot may be used as an audit unit for purposes of this section only if all of the

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following conditions are satisfied:

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     (i) The relevant vote tabulating device is able to produce a report of the votes cast in the

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precinct, set of ballots, or single ballot.

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     (ii) The elections official is able to match the report described in subsection (i) of this

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section with the ballots corresponding to the report for purposes of conducting an audit pursuant

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to this section.

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     (iii) Each ballot is assigned to not more than one audit unit.

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     (2) "Contest" means an election for an office or for a measure.

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     (3) "Risk-limiting audit" means a manual tally employing a statistical method that

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ensures a large, predetermined minimum chance of requiring a full manual tally whenever a full

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manual tally would show an electoral outcome that differs from the outcome reported by the vote

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tabulating device for the audited contest. A risk-limiting audit shall begin with a hand tally of the

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votes in one or more audit units and shall continue to hand tally votes in additional audit units

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until there is strong statistical evidence that the electoral outcome is correct. In the event that

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counting additional audit units does not provide strong statistical evidence that the electoral

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outcome is correct, the audit shall continue until there has been a full manual tally to determine

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the correct electoral outcome of the audited contest.

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     (4) "Unofficial final results" means election results tabulated pursuant §§17-19-36 and

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17-19-37.

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     (f) The state board shall promulgate rules, regulations and procedures necessary to

 

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implement this section.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS --POST-ELECTION AUDITS

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     This act would authorize the board of elections to establish a post-election risk-limiting

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audit program to improve the accuracy of election results.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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