The 2024 election is well underway, and I’m sharing updates from our team about our work on post-election audits, which are a routine check to ensure machines counted voters’ ballots accurately. These audits provide reassurance when election outcomes are right and can protect against hacks and errors (read more about audits here). We work on multiple fronts, including real time assistance to election officials, legislative advocacy, and giving the public nonpartisan information about how vote counts are checked and verified.Here’s a snapshot of efforts over just the past few weeks:
📋Assisting Election Officials
We just returned from Rhode Island’s risk-limiting audit (RLA) of the 2024 primary, where our expanded team of experts observed and assisted with the audit (watch our video explaining RLAs here). Our partnership with best-practice states like Rhode Island helps us continue to refine and develop processes that can be tailored to any jurisdiction. We’re also working in swing states like Pennsylvania and Georgia to prepare for November’s election, providing advice and assistance to election officials to demonstrate to the public that the winner won and the loser lost.
📍Advocating for Sound Audits
We track audit laws across the country (click here to view our map) and advocate for improvements that give the public assurance that their votes count. For example, last week Arizona took a step towards strengthening its post-election audit process by enacting Senate Bill 1342, alleviating a bottleneck that election officials experienced in staffing their post-election audit and allowing all 15 counties to conduct and complete their routine post-election audit. Click here to read a blog from Sr. Government Relations Associate C.Jay Coles to learn how this impacts Arizona voters, and let’s not forget other long-term successes in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Reaching the public with accurate information about how elections work continues to be vital for the health of our democracy, especially during the post-election period where disinformation is most rampant. We recently conducted a research study in swing states and across the country to discover what matters most to voters heading into the 2024 election, and how we can effectively reach them with information about election accuracy and verifiable outcomes. We all have a role to play across party lines—including election officials, policymakers, advocates, and the media—so stay tuned for a briefing on our key findings.
At Verified Voting, all of our work is on behalf of voters and the election officials who continue to be absolutely indispensable to protecting our democracy. Please consider a gift to support our education and advocacy efforts today.
