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.
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) is 5%.
The risk limit for county-level ballot comparison RLAs is 5%.
The risk limit for county-level ballot polling RLAs is 10%.
2023 Primary
| County | Audit Date | Target Contest | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz | 08/08/2023 | Longview School District No. 122 Director Pos. 4 | Audit Board Report |
| Spokane | 08/08/2023 | City of Spokane Mayor | Audit Board Report |
| Thurston | 08/08/2023 | Port Commissioner District No. 1 | Audit Board Report |
| Whatcom | 08/08/2023 | Whatcom County Council District 4 | Audit Board Report |
RLA Contest Lot Draw - 2023 Primary.pdf
Random seed: 38241174931678981527
Random seed dice roll: live stream Tuesday, 08/08/2023, 8:30am (https://youtube.com/live/a1vt6ojOZl0?feature=share)
2023 April Special Election
| County | Audit Date | Target Contest | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz | 05/02/2023 | Woodland School District Proposition No.1 | Audit Board Report |
| Thurston | 05/02/2023 | City of Olympia & City of Tumwater Proposition No. 1 | Audit Board Report |
RLA contest lot draw: N/A -- only one qualifying contest in each county
Random seed: 04195418518313559471
2022 General Election
| County | Audit Date | Target Contest | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz | 11/15/2022 | Sheriff | Audit Board Report |
| Spokane | 11/15/2022 | Legislative District 3 State Representative Position 2 | Audit Board Report |
| Thurston | 11/15/2022 | County Commissioner, District No. 3 | Audit Board Report |
RLA Contest Lot Draw - 2022 General Election.pdf
Random seed dice roll: https://youtu.be/0mbS47qWsc4
Random seed: 38423743138987648987
2022 Primary
| County | Audit Date | Target Contest | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spokane | 8/9/2022 | Legislative District 3 State Representative Position 2 | Audit Board Report |
Random seed: 49244940797271775717
Random seed dice roll: https://youtu.be/qxZBh5qDQvI
RLA software certification:
Arlo Approval for Use - Certification.pdf
Additional resources:
RCW 29A.60.185 - Audit of results.
WAC Chapter 434-261 - Sections 114-119 on risk-limiting audit procedures.
risklimitingaudits.org - Additional resources and RLA academic papers