A Review of Post Election Audits in Swing States

The Essential Criteria for Effective Post-Election Audits

Post-election audits serve as a critical public check on election outcomes, requiring transparent, trustworthy, and statistically meaningful evidence to verify that machine counts accurately reflect voter intent.

Evaluating Swing State Audits After the 2024 Election

Susan Greenhalgh presents an exhaustive review of post-election auditing procedures conducted across seven battleground swing states, analyzing whether statutory audit rules meet rigorous evidentiary standards.

Gaps in Current State Auditing Practices

Many state-mandated audits suffer from limited sample sizes, reliance on machine re-scans rather than hand counts, and lack of public observation, diminishing their ability to detect subtle tabulation anomalies.

Policy Recommendations for Trustworthy Audits

Strengthening post-election confidence requires states to mandate robust Risk-Limiting Audits of paper ballots, ensure transparent public access, and establish clear recount triggers.