The public is invited to observe Boulder County elections officials audit the result of the 2021 election that ensures vote totals are correct and valid.
The risk-limit audit begins Tuesday, Nov. 16 between 12:30 - 6 p.m. at the Ballot Processing Center, Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Office, 1750 33rd St., in Boulder. Residents interested in witnessing the audit are asked to RSVP by Monday to [email protected] or by calling 303-413-7740., according to a Boulder County news release.
The news release also includes a detailed schedule of canvass information.
In person space to observe the audit is limited. Also, Boulder County COVID-19 safety directives will be enforced. Audit participants will be required to wear a mask and follow instructions provided by staff for safe conduct of the audit, the news release stated.
The risk-limiting audit is a post-election audit that gives a statistical level of confidence that the outcome of an election is correct , the news release states. “This provides the public with evidence that election outcomes reflect the votes cast by voters on their paper ballots,” the news release states.
Boulder County and all other Colorado counties have conducted post-election audits since 2005, but a risk-limiting audit is considered the “gold standard” test of election results, the news release states. Colorado has been conducting risk-limiting audits since 2017 and was the first state in the nation to conduct a statewide version.
To ensure tabulation was accurate, the process reviews how a ballot’s votes were captured by the time it was processed by comparing a sample of paper ballots with digital tallies, according to the news release.
More information about risk-limiting audits, go to the Secretary of State’s FAQs on the RLA.
The software that facilitates the risk-limiting audit at the state level is open source, meaning anyone can examine the code and other states are welcome to learn from or build upon the audit tool, the news release states.
