Risk-Limiting Audits
In Washington, each county conducts a post-election audit after every election. A risk-limiting audit (RLA) uses statistics to confirm election outcomes. An RLA helps verify that the apparent winner of an election actually won.Â
In a risk-limiting audit, ballots are randomly selected for review. Ballots are hand-tallied one by one until enough have been sampled to confirm that the correct winner was found the first time. If the winner won by a lot of votes, the sample needed to confirm the outcome may be quite small; if the race was close, the audit will examine more ballots.
The risk limit for statewide risk-limiting audits (RLAs)Â is 5%.
The risk limit for county-level ballot comparison RLAs is 5%.
The risk limit for county-level ballot polling RLAs is 10%.
2024 April Special Election
County | Audit Date | Target Contest | Files |
---|---|---|---|
Spokane | 4/30/2024 | FIRE DISTRICT NO. 9 Proposition No. 1 | Audit Board Report |
Snohomish | 4/30/2024 | Â | Audit Board Report |
King | 5/1/2024 | Â | Audit Board Report |
Mason | 5/1/2024 | Fire Protection Dist. 16 EMS Levy | Audit Board Report |
Random seed dice roll: Friday, 4/26/2024, 3pm (https://youtube.com/live/hSYKQ2HN2go?feature=share)
Random seed: 36610420433612108066
ArchivedÂ
2024 February Special Election
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RLA software certification
Arlo Approval for Use - Certification.pdf
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Additional resources
RCW 29A.60.185Â - Audit of results.
WAC Chapter 434-261Â - Sections 114-119 on risk-limiting audit procedures.
risklimitingaudits.org - Additional resources and RLA academic papers