Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Risk Limiting Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioner says risk‑limiting audits completed, announces two Jan. 7 special elections and Electoral College meeting
Summary
Commissioner Beals reported that two risk‑limiting audits were completed before Thanksgiving (statewide U.S. Senate RLA and U.S. House District 1 RLA), training and support were provided, a full RLA report is due Jan. 2025, and two special elections in Loudoun County are scheduled for Jan. 7.
Commissioner Beals told the Virginia State Board of Elections the department completed two risk‑limiting audits (RLAs) before Thanksgiving and will present a full report at the board's January 2025 meeting.
Beals said the statewide U.S. Senate RLA used a ballot‑polling method and that staff "pulled 1,878 ballots," which were resampled across the Commonwealth; the audit was completed in one day and the risk limit of 10% was met in the first round. For U.S. House District 1, Beals said the RLA used a batch comparison method: "They pulled 19 randomly selected batches of ballots for a total of 137,627 ballots that were hand counted." He thanked local election officials and volunteers who assisted with hand counting.
Beals described multiple training avenues provided by the department, including a demonstration of the software, webinars, open discussion sessions and an RLA manual, and said staff provided support the week leading up to and during the RLAs. He said the department will provide a full report on the RLAs at the January 2025 meeting.
Beals also announced two special elections on Jan. 7: one for the 30th Senate District in Loudoun County to replace Senator Subramaniam, and a second for the 26th House of Delegates District in Loudoun County to replace a delegate who resigned to run for state senate (transcripted names for the delegates were not fully specified). Commissioner Beals additionally said the Commonwealth will host the 2024 Electoral College at noon on Dec. 17 in the House Chamber; electors will cast ballots there and certificates will be sent to Washington to be counted on Jan. 6, 2025.
