Wisconsin Elections Board Releases Audit on Voting Equipment

By Kyle Maichle, Editor of Wisconsin Election Watch, 

MADISON- During the December 17th meeting of the Government Accountability Board (GAB), the results of a four year audit on voting equipment have been released.

The results of the audit included the most recent conducted in 2012.  Audits done by the GAB include both accessible voting equipment along with devices used to tabulate the votes.  A total of 107 reporting units were included in the 2012 audit spanning various municipalities across the state.  Results of the audit found that all pieces of tabulating equipment were counting the votes correctly.   However, most of the errors that were detected during the audit came from printer errors in the tabulating machines along with improperly marked ballots read by the optical scanners.  The final results of the 2012 audit found that all of the equipment audited was in accordance to vendor specifications along with not being able to detect fraud in the system that could affect the outcome of an election.

More: Wisconsin Elections Board Meeting Discusses Audits and New Equipment

Out of all the municipalities audited in 2012, the most notable were one ward in Beloit, along with two in Kenosha, two in Fond du Lac, three in Madison, seven in the City of Milwaukee, one in Oshkosh, and one in Racine.

When comparing the 2012 to the previous two audits conducted in 2008 and 2010, there were less reporting units audited.  Only 45 reporting units were audited in 2010 while 55 were audited in 2008.     Both the 2008 and 2010 audits found that all voting equipment was performing up to standards specified by the vendors and that no fraud was detected.

Since 2008, all audits have been conducted by municipal clerks at the municipal and county level.  In 2010, audits involved assistance from GAB Staff.  After the audit is conducted, all municipalities are requested to submit their materials along with all reasons for discrepancies to the GAB offices in Madison.  All municipalities are reimbursed $300 per a reporting unit to defray the costs associated with an audit.

More: Wisconsin Elections Board Discusses Use of Electronic Poll Books

The locations of audits are pre-determined by the GAB.  A minimum of five reporting units for each voting system have to be audited.  All county and municipal clerks are given notice in the event of an audit.   When conducting audits, the total number of units audited cannot exceed more than one percent of all the reporting units in the State of Wisconsin.  All audits must be conducted no more than two weeks after the GAB certifies the results.

Editor's Note-Our article can be found at: http://wisconsinelectionwatch.com/12599/wisconsin-elections-board-releases-audit-voting-equipmen/