INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan has announced the start of post-election audits for the 2022 election cycle.
Audits will begin this week, examining the results of the 2022 primary.
“Our post-election audits are another step Indiana takes to safeguard our elections ensuring Hoosiers are confident every time they cast a ballot,” Sullivan said. “Audits provide a check-and-balance on our elections process, verifying that all votes are accurately counted and proper election procedures are followed. That is why earlier this year, I announced we would double the number of post-election audits for the General Election.”
The first audit began Monday in Fulton County.
At least 12 other counties will be audited this year.
Additional counties will be announced as audits are scheduled.
“I am thankful for the partnership of elections administrators in our selected counties. Their participation not only serves their residents, but voters across the state,” Sullivan added.
The Secretary of State’s office conducts audits in partnership with the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) at Ball State University in Muncie.
Indiana’s post-election audits provide strong statistical evidence that an election outcome is correct. This is done by manually checking a randomized sample of paper-voted ballots. In a post-election audit, ballots are not tallied by scanners. Every sampled ballot is hand-counted to determine if the initial machine readings are confirmed and accurate.
Post-election audits are valuable because they can detect problems with election outcomes with a high degree of statistical confidence. Properly conducted post-election audits increase voter confidence and add another layer of security to elections.
(Office of the Indiana Secretary of State press release)
