Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced Tuesday that county post-election audits are complete.
“In yet another example of unprecedented transparency, LaRose has provided the results of county post-election audits online for the first time,” wrote Maggie Sheehan, the secretary of state’s press secretary, in a statement.
The release went on to tout the accuracy of the election, stating “[i]n counties that utilized a percentage-based audit the results show a 99.98% accuracy rate in the presidential election.”
A county post-election audit reviews the results of one or more election contests by either a countywide recount, percentage-based audit or a risk-limiting audit, to validate election accuracy.
A percentage-based audit involves the Board of Elections selecting precincts, polling locations or individual machines and then randomly selecting from among the units a review of 5% of the total votes cast in the county.
A risk-limit audit involves randomly selected ballots based on statistical sampling using two key factors: margin of victory for audited contests and risk limit.
Each county chooses which audit method it will employ. In an email exchange with The Ohio Star, Sheehan revealed that Cuyahoga and Montgomery Counties were the only two requesting risk-limit audits.
Every county was required to audit: 1) the presidential contest; 2) the contest for Justice of the Supreme Court; 3) one countywide contest determined by the board of elections.
According to the secretary of state website, 5,974,121 Ohioans voted in the November general election. That number amounts to 73.99 percent of the more than 8.07 million registered voters – and is 51% of the total state population (11.68 million).
LaRose was quoted in the press release, saying: “[e]arly last year we set a clear mission – that Ohio voters would be confident their voice was heard in an honest election,” said LaRose. “The incredible accuracy of the results as reflected in the post-election audits should make every Ohioan proud not only of their bipartisan election officials, but of the system we have in place. Ohio ran a fair and accurate election.”
The Star asked Sheehan what the accuracy rate was for the risk-limit audits conducted in Cuyahoga and Montgomery Counties and whether there were counties that conducted recounts (and the accuracy rate if applicable). No response was provided prior to this report publishing.
Joe Biden (D) won Cuyahoga County by more than twice the number of votes cast for President Donald Trump (R) and Biden also won Montgomery County by two percent.
County post-election audit information can be found by clicking here.
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Jack Windsor is Managing Editor and an Investigative Reporter at The Ohio Star. Windsor is also an Investigative Reporter at WMFD-TV. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Frank LaRose” by Frank LaRose. Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
