Irwin County board approves scope for risk-limiting audit, requests party volunteers

At its May 22 meeting the Irwin County Board of Elections & Registrations approved staff’s recommended scope for a Risk-Limiting Audit (RLA) of the May 19 election.

Election Supervisor Ethan Compton told the board the legislature has funded additional OCR-based ballot-image audits and that, absent new state legislation, those results will serve as the official tabulation for audits beginning after July 1 until a new voting system is adopted. Compton recommended auditing all ballots for the two contests the state selects and all local contests within a 10% margin of victory, which for Irwin County would increase the number of audited ballots substantially; staff estimated an audit workload of between about 321 and 1,075 ballots of the 1,928 ballots cast, depending on selections and exemptions.

Compton noted scheduling changes: because Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 25, the RLA start was moved to Friday, May 29; he also flagged a discrepancy between a typed 9 a.m. start time and an oral statement of 10 a.m. The office asked for four volunteers from each county party for the proposed scope; if fewer exemptions are made the volunteer requirement could rise to eight per party.

Member Wyatt Thompson moved to approve auditing the contests suggested by Supervisor Compton; Vice-Chair Patricia Thurman seconded and the motion passed 2-0. Staff explained the broader scope aims to reduce volunteer overload and prevent extended audit durations experienced during the 2024 primary audit.

The board’s approval covers scheduling and scope recommendations only; no changes to certification procedures were made during this motion.