Counties report operational burdens implementing SB 827 post‑election hand counts and risk‑limiting audits

Witnesses from the Secretary of Stateoffice and county election associations described both the intent and the practical burdens of Senate Bill 827.

Christina Atkins told the committee SB 827 shifted the post‑election hand count to randomly selected polling places and to early‑voting ballot boards, and it requires counties to post audit results. "This provides for more independence and validation of the activities that occurred in the election process," she said, while acknowledging that counties report increased costs and challenges recruiting ballot‑board members.

County election officials and associations asked the committee to consider clarifying parameters for which races must be counted in local elections (for example, long ballots or many charter amendments), to provide a standardized public reporting template (the Secretary of State already supplies an Excel template), and to consider the inequitable effect of a fixed 3‑location minimum in very small counties. Several witnesses urged that the new statewide risk‑limiting audit process be explicitly scheduled to finish prior to final canvass.