Bill S.517 194th (Current)

1. About half of Massachusetts voters are now casting their ballots by mail or using early voting options. But right now, our law only requires audits of ballots cast on election day. This bill would require the audit to include all ballots validly cast, including “cured” provisional ballots, so that the audit will include all ballots counted for certification (PD43).
2. Right now, post-election audits are required only once every four years, to check the results of the presidential general election and other races on that ballot. State races for governor and constitutional offices are never audited. This bill expands post-election audits so they happen every two years, after both the September and November elections in even-numbered years. During non-presidential years, audits will include the governor’s race and another statewide election: either a constitutional officer or a ballot question, based on a random drawing.
     
3. Although lLocal election authorities are required to complete their audits within 14 days of the election but, under the current statute, the statewide audit report doesn’t have to be released until six months later. Although the implementing regulations have an earlier deadline, the statute should be updated to ensure that Massachusetts voters don’t have to wait a half-year to find out the results of the audit. This bill requires the statewide audit report to be published within 30 days of the election; and if any investigation into discrepancies is still ongoing, a supplemental report may be issued up to 90 days after the election.

4.                  The bill requires that the statewide audit report be maintained online for at least six years. Current statute requires the statewide audit report to be published online – but doesn’t specify how long it must be kept available for voters to access. Voters should be able to access the audit results on the state website for a reasonable length of time.

5. Local elections cannot be audited, under current laws. The bill authorizes – but does not require – cities and towns to perform post-election audits.

The bill also creates a Risk-Limiting Audit Workgroup to consider other ways to improve post-election audits. The Workgroup would begin its study within 90 days of the bill’s effective date, and issue a report by July 31, 2027.  Risk-limiting audits are widely considered the “gold standard” of post-election audits, and are used in a growing number of states including Georgia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Workgroup members would represent a variety of stakeholders – including municipal clerks, legislators, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office and nonprofit organizations that work to improve election administration.