Secretary Of State's Office Chooses Eight Towns To Audit Ballot-Counting Machines After Election

By Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin

The Secretary of State’s Office has chosen eight polling places to conduct a post-election audit of New Hampshire’s voting machines, the office announced Tuesday.

The polling places, which were randomly selected, include Bedford, Hudson, Laconia Ward 3, Manchester Ward 3, Moultonborough, Rochester Ward 2, Somersworth Ward 4, and Walpole.

The audit process is required by law – Senate Bill 489, which passed this year. The law requires audits of at least eight ballot-counting devices after every state primary, general election, and presidential primary.

Under the law, the Secretary of State’s Office must use auditing devices to carry out a recount of a sample of the ballots in one ballot-counting machine in the chosen polling ward after the election. The result of that recount must then be compared with the results produced by the machine.

If there are wide differences in results, the secretary of state can authorize a wider sample of ballots or can request a full recount for the machine, the law states. The office is not allowed to announce which towns will receive an audit until all the machines have been programmed; typically not until Election Day.

This year, towns are allowed to use ballot machines from two companies. The first machine, from AccuVote, is the most commonly used and was for years the only kind allowed. In September 2023, the Ballot Law Commission authorized the use of the second machine, an “open source” machine produced by the nonprofit company VotingWorks.

Tuesday’s audit includes two towns — Moultonborough and Rochester — that are using the VotingWorks machine; the other six in the audit are using AccuVote.

Audits conducted after the Sept. 10 state primary this year found “all results within expected margins,” according to a later report by the Secretary of State’s Office.

The announcement came after the office predicted record turnout in New Hampshire Tuesday.

Just before 1 p.m., a spokeswoman for the office said turnout had been “heavy and steady,” and added the office had not heard of any “major issues” at the polls.

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