Press release from Buncombe County:
Buncombe County Board of Elections (CBE) completed its sample audit on Nov. 8. The audit process was open for the public to view.
Following the Nov. 2 municipal elections, the State Board of Elections randomly selected two precincts, early voting sites, or absentee-by-mail ballots to be counted by hand in each county holding a municipal election. The sample audit count is required by statute and helps ensure the reliability of election results. “Confidence in the outcome of an election is paramount and audits like these help support that confidence,” says Election Services Director Corinne Duncan. The audit is a comparison of the machine counts with hand-to-eye counts completed as a test to confirmation that voting equipment read the voter’s choices accurately.
This election Buncombe will also be participating in a voluntary pilot for a risk-limiting audit in addition to the sample audit, Duncan adds. This type of audit has been used in other states and is a more statistically robust type of auditing that the State Board of Elections is considering requiring for future elections.
“As a new board member, I have been so impressed by the Buncombe County Board of Elections’ commitment to ensuring that every vote is accurately counted,” says newly sworn CBE member Robert “Bo” Carpenter. “Today’s audit, which I had the pleasure of watching in person, serves as another example of the thorough and transparent process this Board of Elections brings to every election in the County.”
Tomorrow the Buncombe CBE holds the final meeting to certify the election at 11 a.m., at 50 Coxe Ave. This meeting is open to the public.
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