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Cherokee County elections board approves pre‑certification audit for June Public Service Commission race
Summary
The Cherokee County Board of Elections voted unanimously to conduct a random, pre‑certification audit of at least 10% of ballots (capped at 500) for the June 17 Public Service Commission contest; the audit will be held at the Election Office and open to monitors and the public.
The Cherokee County Board of Elections voted unanimously to conduct a pre‑certification audit of the June 17 Public Service Commission contest, setting a minimum sample of 10 percent of ballots and capping the count at 500 votes.
Board member John moved the audit and Scott seconded; the motion as clarified by the board requires randomly selected precinct tabulator batches and mail‑in ballot batches to be drawn “out of a fishbowl” and counted in full until the sample exceeds 10 percent, with the process stopping once the threshold is reached. The board also specified that the action “only applies to this election.”
Board members said the audit is intended as an extra verification step to compare the paper ballots to the machine tape before formal certification, complementing the state’s risk‑limiting audit that will occur after the county’s certification. “I make a recommendation that we maybe talk between now and June … putting the precinct numbers in a fishbowl and randomly pulling a few out to count and compare the paper ballots with the machine counts,” Board member John said.
Elections Director Anne told the board the county will follow standard ballot‑security procedures and treat the count like other audits: parties will be notified, monitors invited and the public allowed to observe. Anne confirmed the state will run its risk‑limiting audit the following Thursday and Friday after the election. The county set the pre‑certification count for Friday, June 20, at 10 a.m. at the Elections Office.
Board discussion covered two recurring concerns: staff workload and setting an expectation that small elections always receive pre‑certification audits. “My concern is that we would be setting a precedence,” said Scott, noting heavier elections could create an expectation the county cannot meet without more resources. Board member Larry and others argued the small size of the Public Service Commission election makes this a reasonable, limited check and proposed writing a policy that would limit future pre‑certification audits to small elections or odd‑numbered years.
The motion approved by the board requires the county to randomly select whole tabulator batches and sealed mail‑in ballot batches (the smallest whole units that can be compared to a tabulator tape) and count them until the sample exceeds 10 percent of the total votes in the contest, but not to count more than 500 ballots. Because batches are counted in full, the final percentage may rise slightly above 10 percent depending on the sizes of selected batches.
The board asked staff to coordinate logistics and public notice. Anne said the county will use the same procedures and notifications it uses for other recounts and audits, including offering monitors to the parties and ensuring ballot security.
The board emphasized the measure applies only to the June 17 Public Service Commission election and is not intended as a binding precedent for larger elections, pending possible future changes to state timelines that would affect how much time the county has between election day and certification.
