Voters and volunteer auditors raise election audit transparency at county meeting

During the public-comment segment, multiple speakers raised concerns about election-audit transparency and the operations of the Secretary of State's office in selecting ballots and performing parts of the risk-limiting audit. Mila Shusterman, who said she participated in a risk-limiting audit process, told commissioners that statutory provisions require the audit board to compare paper ballots to tabulated CVRs and that she was not able to observe that required step.

Annette Budd read from rules she cited (Secretary of State regulations) and argued that if an appointed audit board member is not allowed to "conduct" the essential verification steps, the statutory purpose of the audit—the public's ability to understand and verify results—is undermined. Speakers asked the county to examine whether procedures complied with the law and to increase transparency around audit procedures.

The board did not respond with a policy change at this meeting. Commissioners listened and acknowledged the concerns, and public commenters were invited to submit additional materials to staff for follow-up.