Accurate Elections

SBE Member Joshua Malcolm SBE General Counsel Don Wright

August, 2013

Precinct Reconciliation

08 NCAC 10B .0105 PROCEDURES AT THE CLOSE OF VOTING (i) The Chief Judge and Judges shall sign the consolidation and accounting sheets and statement of returns and shall place them in the "official precinct returns" envelope or container.

Precinct Reconciliation

• Teach your new Precinct Judges that they must make an accurate accounting of all ballots.

• The accounting must be signed by all three judges.

• If it does not balance, CBE staff and the precinct judges must work on it until it balances or can explain why it does not balance.

• SBE audits of CBE offices require a review of the precinct reconciliation.

CBE Staff Cross Check

• Are the precinct totals consistent? i.e. 1000 votes have been cast at the two prior even year elections, 1600 votes are now reported….look into it. CBE and staff should have an expectation of total votes based upon prior history.

• CBE should confirm data multiple times before entering it into ENR. Don’t skip careful review of data just to get returns entered more quickly.

• Make sure public understands election night totals are unofficial and will change as provisionals are added.

Sample Hand to Eye Count• § 163 182.1. Principles and rules for counting official ballots.‑

(b)(1) Provide for a sample hand to eye count of the paper ballots or paper ‑ ‑records of a statewide ballot item in every county. The presidential ballot item shall be the subject of the sampling in a presidential election. If there is no statewide ballot item, the State Board shall provide a process for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate. The State Board shall approve in an open meeting the procedure for randomly selecting the sample precincts for each election. The random selection of precincts for any county shall be done publicly after the initial count of election returns for that county is publicly released or 24 hours after the polls close on election day, whichever is earlier. The sample chosen by the State Board shall be of one or more full precincts, full counts of mailed absentee ballots, full counts of one or more one stop early voting sites, or a ‑combination. The size of the sample of each category shall be chosen to produce a statistically significant result and shall be chosen after consultation with a statistician. The actual units shall be chosen at random. In the event of a material discrepancy between the electronic or mechanical count and a hand to eye count, ‑ ‑the hand to eye count shall control, except where paper ballots or records have ‑ ‑been lost or destroyed or where there is another reasonable basis to conclude that the hand to eye count is not the true count. If the discrepancy between the ‑ ‑hand to eye count and the mechanical or electronic count is significant, a complete ‑ ‑hand to eye count shall be conducted.‑ ‑

Sample Hand to Eye Count• § 163 182.2. Initial counting of official ballots.‑

(b)(1a) For optical scan and direct record electronic voting systems, and for any other voting systems in which ballots are counted other than on paper by hand and eye, those rules shall provide for a sample hand to eye count of the paper ballots or paper records of a sampling of a statewide ‑ ‑ballot item in every county. The presidential ballot item shall be the subject of the sampling in a presidential election. If there is no statewide ballot item, the State Board shall provide a process for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate. The State Board shall approve in an open meeting the procedure for randomly selecting the sample precincts for each election. The random selection of precincts for any county shall be done publicly after the initial count of election returns for that county is publicly released or 24 hours after the polls close on election day, whichever is earlier. The sample chosen by the State Board shall be of one or more full precincts, full counts of mailed absentee ballots, and full counts of one or more one stop early voting ‑sites. The size of the sample of each category shall be chosen to produce a statistically significant result and shall be chosen after consultation with a statistician. The actual units shall be chosen at random. In the event of a material discrepancy between the electronic or mechanical count and a hand to eye count, the hand to eye count shall control, except where paper ballots or records have ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑been lost or destroyed or where there is another reasonable basis to conclude that the hand to eye ‑ ‑count is not the true count. If the discrepancy between the hand to eye count and the mechanical or ‑ ‑electronic count is significant, a complete hand to eye count shall be conducted. The sample count ‑ ‑need not be done on election night.

Sample Hand to Eye Count Applies to All Elections!

• To administer mandates of the statutory sample hand-to-eye count of statewide ballot items required pursuant to G.S. § 163-182.1(b), the State Board of Elections adopts the following standards and procedures for a sample hand-to-eye audit count of county, municipal and special elections that are held in the state. Even if there is no concurrent statewide election being held on the date of a non-statewide election, these sample audit guidelines apply. County boards of elections must conduct a sample audit count of each primary, general municipal election, or runoff election held during the municipal election period of odd-numbered years. County boards of elections must also conduct a sample audit count for any special elections.

• See SBE’s GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES FOR MUNICIPAL AND SPECIAL ELECTION SAMPLE AUDIT COUNT (Revised September 2009)

SBE CONTACTS ON SAMPLE AUDITS

• General Counsel, Don Wright, has been involved from the start of these audits and is primarily responsible for the preparation of the samples subject to the random count. He serves as primary contact with the statistician regarding the audit, provides guidance to the counties, and receives the reports.

• George McCue, SBE Elections Specialist, now assists Don Wright with SBE’s role in the audit.

• See SBE Numbered Memorandum 2006-12 implementing the sample audit count.

Random Selection of Samples

Six weeks before each election, remove all inactive precincts, One-Stops, or extra samples in SEIMS that will not have reported votes cast, so they will not be selected for a random count.

Once random selection is made, it is not changed..it would not be random otherwise.

The SBE will select the race to be counted.

Template is Used to Report Sample Hand Count Audit

• COUNTY • PRECINCT, ONE-STOP SITE, OR MAIL-IN ABSENTEE SAMPLE• NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN SELECTED PRECINCT SAMPLE• CANDIDATES IN CONTEST SELECTED TO BE AUDITED• M100 HAND-TO-EYE COUNT• DIFFERENCE IN M-100 HAND-TO-EYE COUNT• iVotronic HAND-TO-EYE COUNT • DIFFERENCE IN iVotronic HAND-TO-EYE COUNT • EXPLANATION OF ANY DIFFERENCE, OR REASON FOR INABILITY TO EXPLAIN • TYPE OF ERROR IN ANY COUNT DIFFERENCE (Human or Machine)• NUMBER OF COUNTERS AS TO EACH SAMPLE COUNTED• TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE AS TO EACH SAMPLE COUNTED• COST OF SAMPLE AUDIT AS TO EACH SAMPLE COUNTED

Sample Hand to Eye Count…..Attempts Should be Made to Correct or Explain Differences

• Perform and conclude audit prior to county canvass

• Do not adjust counts without a factual basis• If there are differences, figure out why• If the sample audit count is the more “correct”

figure, use it for your canvass totals• Sample audit counts are open to the public• Do not hesitate to contact SBE if issues arise

2012 Reasons for Count Differences

• “Machine failed to read light marks or oval not filled in correctly” (human error)

• “Provisional vote fed in machine” (human error)• “Counted voter’s intent on a ballot that had Romney crossed out

with no name written below it and the Obama oval properly filled in” (human error)

• “IVO #5165246 Had documented printer jam that required roving technician repair. The jam encompassed 5 rtal paper ballots between 11:54 and 2:16. UNITY image log” (machine error)

• “Ballot jammed in machine and we thought it had counted, but during the audit we found that it did not count” (machine error)

Sample Hand to Eye Count……..The Audit is Valuable!

• Gives creditability to our voting system totals• Gives assurances of validity of the vote totals to

candidates that might have to make decisions on recount requests and filing protests

• Assures the public we are “double-checking” our work product

• Provides the CBE a “shield” against unfounded allegations that the vote count is inaccurate

Canvass

§ 163-182.5. Canvassing votes.(a) The Canvass. - As used in this Article, the term "canvass" means the entire process of determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, culminating in the authentication of the official election results. The board of elections conducting a canvass has authority to send for papers and persons and to examine them and pass upon the legality of disputed ballots. (The canvass is an open meeting)

Canvass Dates/Times§ 163-182.5. Canvassing votes.

(b) Canvassing by County Board of Elections. - The county board of elections shall meet at 11:00 A.M. on the tenth day after every election held on the same day as a general election in November of the even-numbered year, and at 11:00 A.M. on the seventh day after every other election, to complete the canvass of votes cast and to authenticate the count in every ballot item in the county by determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly. If, despite due diligence by election officials, the initial counting of all the votes has not been completed by that time, the county board may hold the canvass meeting a reasonable time thereafter. The canvass meeting shall be at the county board of elections office, unless the county board, by unanimous vote of all its members, designates another site within the county. The county board shall examine the returns from precincts, from absentee official ballots, from the sample hand-to-eye paper ballot counts, and from provisional official ballots and shall conduct the canvass.(c) Canvassing by State Board of Elections. - After each general election, the State Board of Elections shall meet at 11:00 A.M. on the Tuesday three weeks after election day to complete the canvass of votes cast in all ballot items within the jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections and to authenticate the count in every ballot item in the county by determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly. After each primary, the State Board shall fix the date of its canvass meeting. If, by the time of its scheduled canvass meeting, the State Board has not received the county canvasses, the State Board may adjourn for not more than 10 days to secure the missing abstracts. In obtaining them, the State Board is authorized to secure the originals or copies from the appropriate clerks of superior court or county boards of elections, at the expense of the counties. (2001-398, s. 3; 2003-278, s. 10(a); 2005-323, s. 5(c); 2005-428, s. 11(a).)

Canvass Dates and Times

• Plot out the 2014 dates on your calendar now to avoid conflicts!

• Also plot out the absentee ballot meetings on the Tuesdays prior to the primary and general election.

• Many CBE members request from their CBE Director an advance listing of “must be present dates” in order to avoid conflicts.

Canvass Dates/Times for 2013

GS 163-182.5• 11 am on the seventh day after municipal

Election/Primary/Runoff.• For November 5, 2013 election or runoff,

canvass day is November 12, 2013• For October 8 primary or election/runoff,

canvass day is October 15, 2013.• For September 10, 2013 Partisan Primary,

canvass day is September 17, 2013.

Abstracts§ 163 182.6. Abstracts.‑(a) Abstracts to Be Prepared by County Board of Elections. – As soon as the county canvass has been

completed, the county board of elections shall prepare abstracts of all the ballot items in a form prescribed by the State Board of Elections. The county board shall prepare those abstracts in triplicate originals. The county board shall retain one of the triplicate originals, and shall distribute one each to the clerk of superior court for the county and the State Board of Elections. The State Highway Patrol may, upon request of the State Board of Elections, be responsible for the delivery of the abstracts from each county to the State Board of Elections. The State Board of Elections shall forward the original abstract it receives to the Secretary of State.

(b) Composite Abstracts to Be Prepared by the State Board of Elections. – As soon as the State canvass has been completed, the State Board shall prepare composite abstracts of all those ballot items. It shall prepare those composite abstracts in duplicate originals. It shall retain one of the originals and shall send the other original to the Secretary of State.

(c) Duty of the Secretary of State. – The Secretary of State shall maintain the certified copies of abstracts received from the county and State boards of elections. The Secretary shall keep the abstracts in a form readily accessible and useful to the public.

(d) Forms by State Board of Elections. – The State Board of Elections shall prescribe forms for all abstracts. Those forms shall be uniform and shall, at a minimum, state the name of each candidate and the office sought and each referendum proposal, the number of votes cast for each candidate and proposal, the candidate or proposal determined to have prevailed, and a statement authenticating the count. (2001 398, s. ‑3.)

Recounts§ 163 182.7. Ordering recounts.‑(a) Discretionary Recounts. – The county board of elections or the State Board of Elections may order a recount when necessary to complete the canvass in an election. The

county board may not order a recount where the State Board of Elections has already denied a recount to the petitioner.(b) Mandatory Recounts for Ballot Items Within the Jurisdiction of the County Board of Elections. – In a ballot item within the jurisdiction of the county board of elections, a

candidate shall have the right to demand a recount of the votes if the difference between the votes for that candidate and the votes for a prevailing candidate is not more than one percent (1%) of the total votes cast in the ballot item, or in the case of a multiseat ballot item not more than one percent (1%) of the votes cast for those two candidates. The demand for a recount must be made in writing and must be received by the county board of elections by 5:00 P.M. on the first business day after the canvass. The recount shall be conducted under the supervision of the county board of elections.

(c) Mandatory Recounts for Ballot Items Within the Jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections. – In a ballot item within the jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections, a candidate shall have the right to demand a recount of the votes if the difference between the votes for that candidate and the votes for a prevailing candidate are not more than the following:

(1) For a nonstatewide ballot item, one percent (1%) of the total votes cast in the ballot item, or in the case of a multiseat ballot item, one percent (1%) of the votes cast for those two candidates.

(2) For a statewide ballot item, one half of one percent (0.5%) of the votes cast in the ballot item, or 10,000 votes, whichever is less.‑The demand for a recount must be in writing and must be received by the State Board of Elections by noon on the second business day after the county canvass. If at that time

the available returns show a candidate not entitled to a mandatory recount, but the Executive Director determines subsequently that the margin is within the threshold set out in this subsection, the Executive Director shall notify the eligible candidate immediately and that candidate shall be entitled to a recount if that candidate so demands within 48 hours of notice. The recount shall be conducted under the supervision of the State Board of Elections.

(d) Rules for Conducting Recounts. – The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for conducting recounts. Those rules shall be subject to the following guidelines:(1) The rules shall specify, with respect to each type of voting system, when and to what extent the recount shall consist of machine recounts and hand to eye recounts. ‑ ‑

Hand to eye recounts shall also be ordered as provided by G.S. 163 182.7A.‑ ‑ ‑(2) The rules shall provide guidance in interpretation of the voter's choice.(3) The rules shall specify how the goals of multipartisan participation, opportunity for public observation, and good order shall be balanced. (2001 398, s. 3; 2003 278, ss. ‑ ‑

10(b), 10(c); 2005 323, s. 6(a); 2005 428, s. 11(b).)‑ ‑§ 163 182.7A. Additional provisions for hand to eye recounts.‑ ‑ ‑(a) The rules promulgated by the State Board of Elections for recounts shall provide that if the initial recount is not hand to eye, and if the recount does not reverse the ‑ ‑

results, the candidate who had originally been entitled to a recount may, within 24 hours of the completion of the first recount, demand a second recount on a hand to eye basis in a sample of precincts. If the initial recount was not hand to eye and it reversed the results, the candidate who had initially been the winner shall ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑have the same right to ask for a hand to eye recount in a sample of precincts.‑ ‑

That sample shall be all the ballots in three percent (3%) of the precincts casting ballots in each county in the jurisdiction of the office, rounded up to the next whole number of precincts. For the purpose of that calculation, each one stop (early) voting site shall be considered to be a precinct. The precincts to be recounted by a hand to eye ‑ ‑ ‑count shall be chosen at random within each county. If the results of the hand to eye recount differ from the previous results within those precincts to the extent that ‑ ‑extrapolating the amount of the change to the entire jurisdiction (based on the proportion of ballots recounted to the total votes cast for that office) would result in the reversing of the results, then the State Board of Elections shall order a hand to eye recount of the entire jurisdiction in which the election is held. There shall be no cost ‑ ‑to the candidate for that recount in the entire jurisdiction.

(b) Recounts under this section shall be governed by rules adopted under G.S. 163 182.7(d).‑(c) No complete hand to eye recount shall be conducted under this section if one has already been done under another provision of law. (2005 323, s. 6(b).)‑ ‑ ‑

No Recounts Just Because it is Close

No recounts unless the vote margin falls within the statutory range.

No recounts for “friends”. No recounts because CBE were surprised at

results.Why?...The law doesn’t allow it and if you

recount one close race…you should recount them all.