Schmidt: ‘No discrepancies’ found in audit of Pa. primary election | Five for the Weekend
Pennsylvania began piloting post-election RLA audits in 2019, and the first statewide pilot RLA audit was held in 2020
By Cassie Miller – Capital Star
HARRISBURG, PA – Pennsylvania’s top election official announced this week that a statewide audit of the May 16 primary election found “no discrepancies between the original and audited unofficial results.”
The risk-limiting audit (RLA), required election officials from 14 counties across Pennsylvania (Adams, Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Franklin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Union, Washington, and Westmoreland counties), to hand-tally randomly selected ballot batches before comparing those vote totals to the original machine counts for that race.
According to the department, the races to be audited were determined through a random selection process on May 22. The auditing process was live-streamed by the department on May 25.
“I want to thank county election officials for their participation in this RLA at a time when they were also busy conducting the 2% statutorily required review that they must perform after each primary and general election,” Acting Secretary of State Al Schmidt said. “Because of their efforts and hard work, Pennsylvanians can feel confident in the accuracy and integrity of the commonwealth’s electoral system.”
The first statewide RLA was held in 2020 with the department issuing an order in November 2022, that directs counties to conduct pre-certification RLAs after every election.
