DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose was in Montgomery County Thursday making a stop at the Board of Elections for a post-election audit.
All 88 Ohio counties are required to have an audit after an election but Montgomery County was also chosen for a “risk-limiting” audit (RLA) as well. That is a process where ballots are randomly selected. LaRose said this audit will provide strong statistical evidence the election results are secure and accurate.
“We are trying to get some attention to this because Ohioans need to know we do this,” LaRose said. “Although it felt like the election was forever ago, this is an important part of the process. We can check our work and make sure everything came out honestly and accurately.”
Risk-limiting audits are a fairly new process. If a discrepancy is found during the audit an amendment to the county’s official election results may be made no later than 81-days after the election.
“Not many counties are doing it, but I think, moving forward, we’re going to see the secretary of state not mandating, but pushing to have RLAs done throughout the counties,” Montgomery County Board of Elections Director Jan Kelly said.
In Montgomery County, the RLA process took about a week of preparation and will take two days to complete.
LaRose was scheduled to visit the Allen and Lucas County Boards of Election Thursday as well.
LaRose certified the official results of the 2020 Presidential General Election Nov. 27. The Secretary’s signature marks the completion of the official canvass and certifies winners in the 2020 General Election.
