Georgia Kicks Off Statewide Election Audit Using Dice to Select Random Ballots
Twenty participants rolled dice to randomly select ballot samples for hand-counting verification across Georgia’s 159 counties before next week’s certification deadline.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Georgia officials launched a statewide risk-limiting audit Thursday, using a public dice-rolling ceremony to randomly select ballot samples for verification of this month’s election results across all 159 counties.
The Secretary of State’s office opened its doors to the public as twenty participants each rolled a 10-sided die to generate a 20-digit number. This random number will determine which ballot batches election workers in each county will hand-count to double-check machine-tallied results ahead of next week’s certification deadline.
“In Georgia, our approach is very simple: verify, then trust,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, referencing the Russian proverb popularized by former President Ronald Reagan. “That is exactly what we are doing here today.”
How the Audit Process Works
Election workers will conduct hand audits of the selected ballot batches, ensuring that printed words on each ballot match totals reported by ballot tabulators, which count votes by scanning ballot QR codes. The state has used this risk-limiting audit process since 2020 to help verify election results.
A second audit will use technology to scan human-readable text on all ballots cast during the primary election to further confirm results. According to Raffensperger, the process uses a statistically significant sample to ensure votes reported by machines on election night were tallied accurately.
Quality Control Measures
“If there was an error significant enough to affect the outcome, this process is designed to catch it,” Raffensperger said during Thursday’s ceremony.
The audit comes as Georgia’s ballot QR code system faces scrutiny. Ballot QR codes will be the focus of a special legislative session set to begin in June, as the state’s current election system relies on QR codes to count votes.
The risk-limiting audit is one of several verification steps Georgia has implemented to ensure election integrity. County election workers must complete their portion of the audit before the statewide certification deadline next week.
The public ceremony demonstrated the transparency measures Georgia officials say they have prioritized in election administration. The dice-rolling process ensures that no single person or entity can influence which ballot batches are selected for verification.
