The accuracy of the November 5, 2024 General Election results in
the City of Black River Falls has been confirmed following a post-election audit of the
voting equipment.
On November 25, 2024, election officials conducted a public audit of the voting equipment
in the City of Black River Falls – Ward 1, which was randomly selected by the Wisconsin
Elections Commission (WEC) for this process. This audit serves as an additional safeguard
to verify that the voting machines functioned properly and that the election was accurately
conducted.
As required by Wisconsin Statute § 7.08(6), a post-election audit is performed after each
General Election to ensure the integrity of the voting process. During the audit, election
officials manually count the ballots from the selected ward and compare the results to the
electronic vote totals reported on Election Night. The hand-counted results matched the
voting machine results with no discrepancies.
The audit materials will be submitted to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for further
review. The WEC will examine the results, investigate any potential discrepancies, and may
ask the voting machine vendor to provide explanations if needed. Once the review is
complete, the WEC will issue a public report that will be presented to the Commission at
an upcoming meeting.
Post-election audits are conducted in approximately 10% of Wisconsin’s reporting units
and serve as a final check on the election results. While not all municipalities are audited,
the 2024 sample ensures that each county and all types of voting equipment used in the
state are represented.
Discrepancies in vote totals are extremely rare and, when they do occur, are typically due
to human error. Election officials use these instances to refine training procedures to
minimize future mistakes.
In addition to the post-election audit, a pre-election equipment test is performed for every
tabulator to verify that the programming is accurate. This test involves feeding pre-marked
ballots into the machines and reviewing the results to ensure an error-free count.
Election results are also thoroughly reviewed by county and state officials before they are
certified by the Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair.
More information about the 2024 post-election audit can be found here:
https://elections.wi.gov/2024-voting-equipment-audit
Information about audits generally can be found here:
https://elections.wi.gov/elections/voting-equipment-wisconsin/voting-equipment-security
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