Rhode IslandAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Senate Bill 413, signed into law on May 5, 2017, first authorized the state election board to conduct risk-limiting audits in Rhode Island beginning in 2018. The state election board is authorized to conduct risk-limiting audits after primary, general, and special elections; risk-limiting audits are…
South CarolinaAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Prior to 2022, South Carolina had no statutory post-election audit requirement. S. 108, which was signed into law in May 2022, requires the executive director of the South Carolina State Election Commission to: “establish methods of auditing election results, which may include risk-limiting audits, hand-count…
South DakotaAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary South Dakota’s post-election audit law, enacted in 2023, requires five percent of the precincts in a county, including vote centers but excluding absentee precincts, to manually count all votes cast in two contests and compare the results of the manual count to the tabulated results…
TennesseeAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Beginning in 2024, the secretary of state must randomly select three counties to conduct an audit after each August election and six counties to conduct an audit after each November election, prescribing the audit methodology—traditional tabulation, risk-limiting, or procedural—to be used in each county selected. Following…
TexasAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary The Texas audit law was originally passed in 1987 and has since been amended several times, including in 2025. Additional guidance regarding audits from the Texas Secretary of State is made in Election Advisory No. 2025-21, Election Advisory No. 2025-22, and the Post-Election Hand Count Audit…
UtahAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Utah’s audit statute specifically addresses auditing signature affidavits; however, Utah counties also conduct post-election audits of ballot tabulation machines. The purpose of Utah’s current audit is “to ensure that the scanners have accurately counted the ballots.” State of Utah Election Audit Policy (2023) (unpublished). The audit…
VermontAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Vermont’s audit statute was signed into law in 2007. With the passage of SB 86 in 2014, Vermont post-election audits became mandatory rather than at the discretion of the secretary of state. Vermont’s post-election audits are not binding on official results and do not lead to…
VirginiaAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Virginia’s audit law, first enacted in 2014 and amended in 2017, was amended again in 2022 to expand risk-limiting audits and require they be conducted before the state certification of election results. The 2022 amendment also changed the deadline for state certification from the third Monday…
WashingtonAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary Under Wash. Rev. Code § 29A.60.185, the county auditor must conduct a pre-certification post-election audit after each election using at least one of the following methods: an audit of direct recording electronic devices (DREs) or other in-person ballot marking systems; a random check of the ballot…
West VirginiaAudit Laws Back to Audit Law Database State Summary West Virginia enacted its audit statute in 2005. It provides for all items on the ballot to be audited; at least three percent of the precincts are chosen at random for the audit and counted manually. The board of canvassers conducts the audit as part…