For ballot comparison and hybrid audits only.
When retrieving cast vote records (CVRs) from your voting system, it’s important to follow your system’s instructions to ensure proper export. Most systems export groups of CVRs in a single file, but some systems export each individual ballot’s record as a separate file.
The following data must be included for each ballot (names may vary by voting system - see chart below):
Unique ID for each CVR
Tabulator ID/name/number
Batch ID/name/number
Ballot position within a batch Imprinted ID (if applicable)
Recorded votes/marks for every contest on a particular ballot, each containing:
Contest name
Candidate name
Vote/mark (and override, if applicable)
NOTE: The “Tabulator name” and “Batch name” columns on your Ballot Manifest must match those found in the cast vote records.
As mentioned above, we strongly encourage you to follow the instructions provided by your vendor when retrieving the cast vote records from your voting system. Some tips we’ve learned from other jurisdictions are provided below.
Dominion:
The Cast Vote Record tabular box should be checked in the export menu
Sometimes fields are exported with extra characters, like quotation marks and equal signs. To eliminate these extra characters, open the CVR file safely in Excel (open a blank worksheet, go to Data > From Text > select CVR file > Import) and use the ctrl-s function to re-save.
ES&S:
ES&S does not provide a single CVR export with all the data needed for the audit. Instead, two exports are required:
Tools > Export Cast Vote Record
Produce Module > Ballots - Table View > set filter to “all” > Export (this file only allows 20K records to be exported at one time and may require several exports depending on your number of ballots)
The tabulator IDs will be parsed from the CVR using the first four digits of the Tabulator CVR field, including any leading zeros. The tabulator names in the manifest must be four digits and include any leading zeros in order to match.
If Arlo is not accepting the CVR file, change the file name to cvr.csv and re-upload.
Hart:
A Hart CVR export is a ZIP file containing an individual XML file for each ballot.
Either a single ZIP file can be provided or multiple, one for each tabulator. When multiple ZIP files are provided, the ZIP file names (with ".zip" removed) will be used as tabulator names.
Separate from the ZIP files, optional scanned ballot information CSVs can be provided. If provided, the "Workstation" values in them will be used as tabulator names, and the "UniqueIdentifier" values in them will be used as imprinted IDs. Otherwise, "CvrGuid" values will be used as imprinted IDs.
If both multiple ZIP files are provided and scanned ballot information CSVs are provided, the ZIP file names will take precedence over the "Workstation" values as tabulator names.
Note that tabulator names are only used if batch names in the ballot manifest are not unique.
The CVR export process may be tricky the first few attempts. We are happy to review files prior to upload and encourage all users to work through this process with us well before audit day. Many jurisdictions have used their logic and accuracy testing CVR files to practice.
A key step in the risk-limiting audit process is building a ballot manifest. A ballot manifest is simply a list of all of the ballot containers and the number of ballots inside.
The ballot manifest is used by Arlo to build a list of every ballot in the election. Arlo takes the list of containers and number of ballots and creates a spreadsheet with a line for each ballot and the container that it is in. Later in the process, Arlo uses the list to randomly select ballots and tell the person auditing the ballots where to find each ballot selected.
Creating a ballot manifest is slightly different depending on the type of RLA you are conducting. Use the tabs below to navigate to the correct instructions for your audit type.
Open a spreadsheet program and create a simple spreadsheet with two columns. The first column titled “Batch Name” is for your container/batch name and the second column titled “Number of Ballots” is where you indicate the number of ballots in each container. Enter the data for your county or jurisdiction. When you're finished, take a second to ensure the total number of ballots matches your number of ballots cast. Then save the file as a .csv file.
Ballots Further Separated in the Container
If ballots have been further separated in a ballot container and are clearly labeled, the separation should be included in the ballot manifest. Only do this when the batches are clearly labeled. For example, if you scanned batches of ballots in sets of 200 and placed them in a folder or wrapped them with a rubber band, and that batch has a label indicating it’s batch x in container y. Simply use a comma in the spreadsheet to indicate another separation - ex “container y, batch x.”
Open a spreadsheet program and create a simple spreadsheet with four columns.
Column A labeled “Container” is for your container name
Column B labeled “Tabulator” is for your tabulator name
Column C labeled “Batch Name” is for your tabulator batch name
Column D labeled “Number of Ballots” is where you indicate the number of ballots in each batch
Enter the data for your county or jurisdiction. When you're finished, take a second to ensure the total number of ballots matches your number of ballots cast. Then save the file as a .csv file.
Open a spreadsheet program and create a simple spreadsheet with five columns.
Column A labeled “Container” is for your container name
Column B labeled “Tabulator” is for your tabulator name
Column C labeled “Batch Name” is for your tabulator batch name
Column D labeled “Number of Ballots” is where you indicate the number of ballots in each batch
Column E labeled “CVR” is where you indicate Y/N if the batch was centrally counted and is included in your CVR file
Enter the data for your county or jurisdiction. When you're finished, take a second to ensure the total number of ballots matches your number of ballots cast. Then save the file as a .csv file.
The number of ballots stored in each container varies by state and jurisdiction. What’s important when creating the ballot manifest is to make sure the number being used is independent of the tabulator. The number of ballots tabulated is generally the right number but that number should have been independently verified on election night or after the election via a reconciliation process that includes comparing it to the number of voters.
All voted ballots should be included. Don’t forget provisional, UOCAVA, absentee, or other ballots counted after election day as required by law.
Once your file(s) have been created and have been saved as .csv files, they’re ready for upload into Arlo.
Click the Browse button and navigate to the ballot manifest .csv file that you created. Once selected, click Upload File.
Ballot comparison and hybrid audits require an upload of CVRs.
Under Cast Vote Records, select your CVR File Type, then click the Browse button to navigate to your CVR file. Once selected, click Upload File.
Batch comparison audits requires an upload of candidate totals by batch.
Under Candidate Totals by Batch, click the Browse button to navigate to the candidate totals by batch .csv file. Once selected, click Upload File.
When the upload(s) are successful, a message will appear at the top of the screen that says “1/1 or 2/2 files successfully uploaded.”
After you upload, if you find a mistake in the files, log back in and use the Replace File button to update the file.
If you are having problems uploading the file(s), verify you have saved the spreadsheet in .csv format, your columns are named correctly, and make sure there are no extra columns or rows. If you continue to have problems with your manifest, CVRs, or candidate totals by batch files, please send the file to rla@vx.support for review.
For batch comparison audits only.
In order to conduct a batch comparison risk limiting audit, Arlo needs candidate vote totals for each batch.
Open a spreadsheet program and create a simple spreadsheet.
Column A labeled “Batch Name” is for your batch name - this must match the batch names in your ballot manifest
Additional columns should be labeled with the names of the target contest candidates or selections. Your audit administrator will provide this information to you.
Enter the data for your county or jurisdiction. When you're finished, take a second to ensure the total number of batches matches your number of batches in your ballot manifest and that the candidate totals are correct. Then save the file as a .csv file.
If auditing multiple contests, the candidate name headings must also include the contest name. Example - "House of Representatives - Jane Doe." Both names should match what was entered by the Audit Administrator during target contest setup.
| Arlo | ClearBallot | Dominion | ES&S | Hart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CVR Unique ID
RowNumber
CvrNumber
Cast Vote Record
CvrGuid
Tabulator
ScanComputerName
TabulatorNum
Tabulator CVR (first four characters)
Each export must be for one tabulator
Batch
BoxID
BatchId
Batch
BatchNumber
Ballot Number
BoxPosition
RecordId
Inferred from row order in the file
BatchSequence
Imprinted ID
BallotID
ImprintedId
Tabulator CVR
CvrGuid
