Seeking: Cost estimates on conducting audits

[garybeck]

Does anyone have a reference to any study that has been done to estimate the cost of conducting a random audit (assuming there are already PATs or ballots to be audited). I assume the higher the percentage (or quantity) you need to count, the higher the cost. any info useful on this and it could have a significant positive effect on our efforts.

thanks

[acmejack]

1. Paper, optical, DRE?

What methodology are you looking for here Gary? I started researching this, but in the process of getting educated (I am a notorious reader/surfer while I do this, a person gotta have some fun!) I realized I needed a little definition.

[garybeck]

3. in our case, we are talking about

opscan ballots.

the scenario is... it's election night. the polls have closed. a percentage of precincts are randomly selected for the audit. the ballots are sitting in the precincts. do they move the auditors to the precincts, or the ballots to a central location? I don't know. I'm just looking for any research that has already been done on this. I'm hoping for a low cost, because we are trying to convince our SoS to do it and cost will be an issue..

thanks
Gary

[hpot]

6. Audits

My main advice is to obtain detailed reports to help target suspected precincts. This is your roadmap and should account for every type of ballot. There are two kind of reports; Precinct level voter registration & election results. If you need help merging the two just contact me. The totals should always match official results.

If you get results that contain more votes than voters, try getting more reports with prior and post registration history info. We have found interesting information buried in the registration reports before (FL 2000 election) that may not be publicly known.

It is also a good idea to visit their office and ask questions. This can help you become more comfortable and familiar with their record keeping procedures.

We counted a few precincts in Florida at a cost of $10 per hour (for the clerk holding the ballot). Price varies depending on location. Ohio provides free access and Florida has no standard fee. The ballots we checked out were located at the main Supervisor's county office.

hpot
recountflorida.com

Edit: our votes were op paper. Some optical machines are capable of storing the actual image of every ballot. Electronic copies could be available.

[garybeck]

7. thanks. to clarify, we are seeking estimates on

conducting random audits to verify the machine count after every election. we would need to hand count an entire precinct at a time because that is the smallest granularity we have and can verify.

our SoS can mandate an audit without any legislation. we want to convince her to do this but we need to know the cost.

[mod mom]

2. As someone who audited optiscan ballots, I would suggest looking into

procedure as well as time. This is something that must be thought out ahead of time. I was doing it by myself (do to the time I was auditing) and I also audited with another person. It moves much faster with a second person. Also it important to note that opticscan ballots are relatively easy due to the size but the new ES &S ballots require a magnifier (I am sure it was intentional).

Things to consider:

*size of precinct (you can use historical data and estimate turnout by historical data and whether it is a midterm or general election)
*number of total precincts audited
*number of races (in my case we were only interested in 3 races in a general election)
*type of ballot (as stated above the Optiscan ballot I audited was large and easily read vs a smaller record)

If you had the above info you could determine the time needed by having two people each responsible for a portion of the ballot. Figure out the approx time to handle one ballot and extrapolate to the number of voters in each precinct and then the number of total precincts. I numbered each ballot and recored races for each numbered ballot (for use in future legal proceedings you may want to consider doing this. We copied the ballots hence we were able to print on the ballot.) Each ballot had a precinct code and a sequential number) Instead of using tallies (which can produce mistakes, I would recommend a code.


Hope this helps a little. If I can be of any additional help or if you need me to clarify this, pls PM me.

NOTE: Much better with a least 2 people handling a portion of the ballot.

AS far as costs you would then have to apply a wage to the amount of time needed. I was cheap-FREE. There are probably BOE personal charges as well, which would be set up by the state. Make sure you get reliable people who care or it might be a waste of time.

[EFerrari]

4. mod mom, you are awesome.

:yourock:

[Wilms]

5. Great question. Recommended. n/t