Audit to check election outcomes from the 2020 June Primary Election

Boulder County, Colo. – The public is invited to remotely observe the Boulder County Election Division’s 2020 Presidential Primary Election risk-limiting audit (RLA) beginning on Friday, July 10 along with other post-election certification activities, as detailed below.

While Boulder County and all Colorado counties have conducted post-election audits since 2005, a risk-limiting audit is considered the “gold standard” test of election results. Colorado has been conducting risk-limiting audits since 2017 and was the first state in the nation to conduct a statewide version.

What: Boulder County Risk-Limiting Audit
When: Starting Friday, July 10 (see detailed schedule below)
Who: RSVP to Vote@BoulderCountyVotes.org or by calling 303-413-7740 to obtain remote access information (video only). (For after-hours/Saturday requests, please email mwozniak@bouldercounty.org)

The risk-limiting audit is a test that helps ensure the accuracy of election results and provides the public with evidence that election outcomes reflect the votes cast by voters on their ballots. To ensure tabulation was accurate, the process reviews how a ballot’s votes were captured at the time it was processed by comparing a sample of paper ballots with digital tallies. To learn more about risk-limiting audits, see the Secretary of State’s FAQs on the RLA.

The software that facilitates the risk-limiting audit at the state level is open source, meaning anyone can examine the code themselves and other states are welcome to learn from or build upon it.

Detailed Schedule:

• Friday, July 10 12 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.– Ballot Pull
• Saturday, July 11, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 or until done – Audit Board Kick-off, Conduct Risk-Limiting Audit
• Tuesday, July 14, 1:30 p.m.* – Canvass Board Remote Meeting (final presentation and signoff of election); contact Elections Office for remote meeting information

Complete risk-limiting audit details and data will be available on the Secretary of State’s Audit Center after the audit is complete.

The Boulder County Elections Division expects to post complete and official election results and related documentation no later than Wednesday, July 22.

* This date is dependent on approval from the Secretary of State’s office, once the statewide Risk Limiting Audit is complete.