Orange County will conduct audit of 2020 presidential election ballots

Billie Montague, 2, puts an “I voted” sticker on her nose while for waiting for her mother, Ashley Montague, to finish voting at Marina Park Community Center in Newport Beach on election day. The risk-limiting audit is not required under California law, the Orange County registrar of voters said, but the procedure is meant to provide “strong statistical evidence” that the outcome of the election is correct. “This is a valuable opportunity to utilize the enhanced auditing capability of Orange County’s voting system, while at the same time ensuring that the outcomes are true and correct.” Nearly 54% of Orange County’s ballots were cast for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, according to data from The Times, while 44% voted for Donald Trump. Despite the president’s accusations of fraud, Kelley said the results of Orange County’s risk-limiting audits have been consistently on-target: Their audit of the 2020 primary elections found that not one vote was off. “Establishing the seed in this manner results in a properly random, and verifiable, selection of individual ballots of examination and audit,” the registrar said, “and ensures the integrity and statistical validity of the risk-limiting audit.” The election results to be audited will be published on the Orange County registrar of voters website prior to the seed ceremony, and the seed will be published immediately after it is established, officials said.