Audit Roles

Below are various roles election administrators have found to be most helpful when conducting an audit. The sample size of ballots and/or batches to be audited will generally determine if these roles can be combined or if multiple people should be employed for each role.

Role #1 - Supervisor

The role of the Supervisor is to ensure the audit process is running smoothly and answer questions about the process. The Supervisor should not be assigned to one of the roles below, to ensure that they are free to troubleshoot and assist others as needed. In jurisdictions with many audit boards, more than one Supervisor may be helpful.

Role #2 - Check-In/Out Station

At a minimum, two people are needed to check ballots in/out to audit boards to maintain chain of custody as well as keep inventory of the ballot containers audited. One person should be stationed with the ballot containers at all times while another person delivers containers to and from the audit boards (a “runner”). This keeps the audit boards stationary and provides a methodical process for keeping track of each container. If you have more than a few audit boards, be sure to add an additional runner for every 5 audit boards to ensure the delivery and pick-up of ballot containers is not a bottleneck in the process.

Role #3 - Audit Boards

Audit boards must be comprised of at least two people and will be responsible for retrieving ballots for a ballot polling or ballot comparison audit or sorting and tallying the votes in a batch for a batch comparison audit. Be sure to keep tables clear of anything (especially food and beverage) other than ballots and required documentation. Audit boards are generally responsible for entering ballots into Arlo as well and will need access to a wifi or cellular enabled device.

Role #4 - Tally Entry User

For batch comparison audits, the tally entry process may be performed by someone other than the audit board. This may be a user who only enters batch tallies or combined with the check-in/out station, supervisor, or review board role. We recommend an additional person assist the person in this role to ensure accurate data entry.

Role #5 - Review Board

Some jurisdictions have rules requiring various types of ballots be escalated to a review team when an audit board can't agree or for more complicated determinations like write-in candidate adjudication or comparing duplicated ballots with their original ballots. Follow your state procedures to determine if this role is necessary.