At its most recent quarterly meeting on September 21, 2022, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) considered and approved the final recommendations regarding how the 2022 post-election voting equipment audit will be conducted. Please note that this is not a notice of selection for the audit. Instead, WEC staff is reaching out today to inform you of the requirements set by the Commission for this year’s voting equipment audit. A full accounting of approvals can be found below. The biggest changes that you may notice from the 2018 and 2020 audits are the total number of reporting units to be selected, the maximum number of units selected in the largest 22 municipalities, as well as the definition of what will constitute a tabulator error for this audit.
The WEC has increased the sample size of reporting units to 10% of all reporting units statewide for the voting equipment audit after the November 8, 2022, General Election. This doubles the number of reporting units that will be selected compared to 2020. As a result, 368 reporting units will be randomly selected for audit in 2022. In addition to doubling the number of reporting units statewide selected for audit, the Commission also increased the maximum number of reporting units to be selected in the two largest municipalities from four to eight. The next 20 largest municipalities will see an increase from a maximum of three reporting units selected to six. All other municipalities will remain at a maximum of one selected reporting unit.
The Commission also approved a definition of what will be considered an equipment error for the upcoming audit. Tabulator errors, a full description of which can be found in the attached memo, will be considered issues present with the tabulator that resulted in a discrepancy between the hand tally and the machine tape that cannot be explained by election administration, election inspector, or auditor error.
Please see the attached memo for more information about the upcoming voting equipment audit.