TRENTON, N.C. (WNCT) – Following any election, the state requires all Board of Elections offices to conduct a sample audit to make sure all the numbers match up.
The hand/eye count double-checks for any errors caused by voting machines. Jones County Board of Elections Director Jennifer King said this system has been going on for years to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
The state randomly selects two precincts to review. The hand/eye count is conducted by a team of bi-partisan election officials, so both Democrats and Republicans are represented. The team will then read the hundreds of votes collected in those precincts, and tally to keep track.
They will continue to count and re-count the ballots until the numbers perfectly match the numbers from the voting machines.
“It’s really disheartening when people question the election process, when we know that we’re here working, you know, a lot of hours,” said King. “I want the process to be conducted in a way that the folks that live here are confident in what we do.”
All of the audits the Board of Elections conducts are open to the public, so people are welcome to come watch and ask questions. To learn more about post-election audits, click here.
