Source: https://www.verifiedvoting.org/state-audit-laws/washington/
Timestamp: 2020-05-28 05:43:41
Document Index: 613303588

Matched Legal Cases: ['§29', '§434', '§29', '§29', '§434', '§434', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29', '§29']

State Audit Laws - Washington
Signed into law 2005, the audit law in Washington applies only to DREs and requires three races to be audited. SeeWash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185. Further rules and procedures are found at Washington Administrative Code Â§434-262-105.
The audit results do not lead to a full recount.Â Since the audit law was passed, Washington has become an all mail ballot state where, in all counties, mailed ballots are counted centrally by optical scan voting equipment, and DREs with VVPATs are only used in vote centers. Most votes in Washington are cast with vote-by-mail ballots and these ballots are only subject to an optional audit: "A random check of the ballot counting equipment may be conducted upon mutual agreement of the political party observers or at the discretion of the county auditor." See Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3).
Observers are allowed during auditing if they have been appropriately registered by those groups allowed to appoint observers. See the Revised Code of Washington, Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185, "Audit of results."
Washington is an all mail ballot state. DREs with VVPAT are used in several counties in vote centers on election day. For details visit the Washington page on The Verifier.
See Washington Administrative Code Â§434-262-105(5) & (6).
Washington Administrative Code Â§434-262-105(5) discusses the procedures for resolving discrepancies when auditing DREs. The regulation states that; "If there is a discrepancy between the electronic results and the paper record results, the canvassing board must take necessary actions to investigate and resolve the discrepancy." It is not clear whether these actions would include an expansion of the audit.
Audits of DREs include early voted ballots cast in vote centers.Â Optional audits underWash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3) include absentee and vote-by-mail ballots counted by election day.
"A random check of the ballot counting equipment may be conducted... at the discretion of the county auditor." See Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3).
For audits conducted under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185 three election contests or ballot issues are randomly selected to be audited on each DRE voting machine. There are no restrictions mentioned on the type of contest which may be selected. For optional audits conducted under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3), "The random check will be limited to one office or issue on the ballots in the precincts or batches that are selected for the check."
For audits of DREs conducted under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185, the "audit must be conducted by randomly selecting by lot up to four percent of the direct recording electronic voting devices or one direct recording electronic voting device, whichever is greater...."
For optional audits conducted under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3), "The random check... may involve up to either three precincts or six batches depending on the ballot counting procedures in place in the county."
Washington is unique in the manner in which it divides some ballots to be audited by hand and some by machine. For audits conducted underWash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185 a manual count is done for the VVPATs on one-fourth of the DRE machines to be audited. On the remaining three-fourths of machines, the counting mayÂ be done by "mechanical device."Â For optional audits under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3), the ballots are counted manually.
Oversight and Conduct of Audit: The audit is overseen by the Secretary of State, but the random selection is conducted at the county level and the audit is conducted by the County Auditor.
Timeline for Audit: For audits conducted under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.185 the audits must be conducted prior to the certification of the election.Â Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.190 provides that; "Fourteen days after a primary or special election and twenty-one days after a general election, the county canvassing board shall complete the canvass and certify the results."
For optional audits under Wash. Rev. Code Ann. Â§29A.60.170(3), the manual count must be completed "no later than forty-eight hours after election day."