RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia State Board of Elections on Nov. 17 selected House of Delegates District 92 for a risk-limiting audit (RLA) that will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, and approved the Department of Elections' recommended method for generating the random seed used by the RLA software.
Elections staff explained that Virginia performs multiple checks on results — at the precinct on election night, during the local canvass and again at the state level prior to certification — and that the RLA provides a statistically based verification of one randomly selected contest. "As you know, we check election results 3 times in Virginia... and today, the board is going to choose which ... will be audited," staff said.
To create the seed that drives ballot sampling, staff described rolling twenty 10‑sided dice once each and recording the sequence as a 20‑digit number that will be entered into the RLA software. The board moved and approved a motion directing staff to generate the seed and carry out the administrative steps for the RLA; members then announced the selected district and the audit date.
Department staff said the RLA will be held at public meetings in the localities selected for participation and asked the public to contact local general registrars for precise retrieval locations. The board directed staff to post the audit notice and to distribute the seed and sampling details to the RLA administrator so ballots can be retrieved and compared per the ballot‑form method approved previously.
The selection and seed‑generation process was recorded on the public transcript; staff emphasized transparency in the seed generation and public notice steps.