Section 410-RICR-20-00-28.2 - Preparing for the AuditA. Risk limit. No later than 10 days before Election Day, the Board of Elections must establish and the Board of Elections staff must publish on the Audit Center the risk limit that will apply in RLAs for that election. The risk limit for all target contests must be no larger than 9%.B. Audit team. No later than five days before Election Day, the Board of Elections staff must appoint audit teams, and alternates, to conduct the risk-limiting audit. The chairpersons of the recognized political parties in Rhode Island may submit to the Board of Elections staff, no later than 10 days before Election Day, lists of electors to serve on the audit teams, and as alternates. The Board of Elections staff must give notice by regular mail or electronically to the chairpersons of their opportunity to nominate audit team members, and alternates. 1. The Board of Elections staff shall designate appropriately affiliated electors as audit team members, and as alternates. Local election officials, members of their staff, and members of the boards of canvassers may serve as members of audit teams, and as alternates. Prior to assisting with the audit, each member of an audit team, and alternates, must swear and sign an oath that they will faithfully discharge their duties.C. Review board. No later than five days before Election Day, the Board of Elections staff must appoint a review board or review boards, including alternates. The chairpersons of the recognized political parties in Rhode Island may submit to the Board of Elections staff, no later than 10 days before Election Day, lists of electors to serve on the review boards. The Board of Elections staff must give written or electronic notice to the chairpersons of their opportunity to nominate review board members. Members of the Board of Elections may serve as members of review boards, and as alternates.D. Ballot manifest. The Board of Elections staff must maintain an accurate ballot manifest that is independent of the voting system. The ballot manifest must include an accounting of all ballot cards counted in the election, no matter what type of ballot (including mail ballots and provisional ballots).1. The ballot manifest must uniquely identify for each batch of ballot cards, and report the number of cards in each batch. The ballot manifest must contain enough information to determine, for each batch, the reporting group (polling place, early voting, or mail) and, if applicable, the polling place or early voting site where the ballots were cast. If applicable, the ballot manifest may identify the number of cards in the batch on which each target contest appears, the tabulator used to scan each batch, and/or the storage container in which the batch is stored after tabulation.2. No later than two calendar days, excluding holidays and weekends, prior to the public ceremony to select the random seed, the Board of Elections staff shall publish the complete ballot manifest for all voted ballots on the Audit Center.E. Chain-of-custody. The Board of Elections staff and local boards of canvassers must secure and contain in sealed ballot containers all tabulated ballot cards in the batches. Throughout the audit, the local board of canvassers and Board of Elections staff must maintain and document uninterrupted chain-of-custody, on forms prescribed by the Board of Elections staff, for each ballot card storage container in accordance with any Board of Elections rule, regulation, policy, or procedure.F. Selection of target contest(s). No later than 10 days after Election Day, the Board of Elections must select the target contest(s). In a presidential preference primary, the Board of Elections must select at least one contest to be audited. In a general election, the Board of Elections must select at least one statewide contest. If there is no statewide contest, the Board of Elections must select at least one contest for Congress. The Board of Elections staff must publish a complete list of all target contests on the Audit Center immediately after making the selection. The Board of Elections must consider at least the following factors in selecting a target contest:1. A high level of interest in a contest;2. Any cause for concern regarding the accuracy of the reported tabulation of a contest;3. The closeness of the reported tabulation outcome of a contest;4. The number of ballots counted in a contest;5. Any benefits that may result from auditing a certain contest; and6. The feasibility of completing the audit before any state or federal deadlines.G. The batch tallies for all target contests from the election management system must be published on the Audit Center before the public meeting to establish the random seed(s). In the event that the batch tallies are not available for some voted ballot cards, the Board of Elections staff must create a separate ballot manifest for these ballots, to be used in auditing an auxiliary audit stratum as described below; if necessary, create an updated ballot manifest including only the voted ballots for which batch tallies are available; and publish the manifest(s) on the Audit Center.410 R.I. Code R. 410-RICR-20-00-28.2
Adopted effective 11/21/2024