Election audit finds no major discrepancies in voting systems

Eric Forcier of the New Hampshire Secretary of State office reads ballot results at the State Archives during the election audit of four places in New Hampshire on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
New Hampshire State Senator James Gray looks for the ballot that broke in half during the election audit of four communities at the State Archives in Concord on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Eric Forcier of the New Hampshire Secretary of State office reads ballot results at the State Archives during the election audit of four places in New Hampshire on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Mary Till, a former Derry moderator, watches the process on a screen at the State Archives during the election audit on Thursday. Till wanted to observe the process of the audit.
New Hampshire State Senator James Gray looks for the ballot that broke in half during the election audit of four communities at the State Archives in Concord on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Eric Forcier of the New Hampshire Secretary of State office reads ballot results at the State Archives during the election audit of four places in New Hampshire on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Kim Brown (left) and Mary Till watch the ballot process on a screen at the State Archives at the election audit of four communities on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Kim Brown (left) and Mary Till watch the ballot process on a screen at the State Archives at the election audit of four communities on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff
Bud Fitch of the New Hampshire Secretary of State office holds up the starter tape to start scanning ballots at the election audit on Thursday. Results from the four audits were released Friday. GEOFF FORESTER photos / Monitor staff
Bud Fitch of the New Hampshire Secretary of State office explains the process as they get ready to begin the scanning of ballots at the election audit on Thursday, November 10, 2022. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Monitor staff

Published: 11/11/2022 1:35:33 PM

A random audit of four towns found no major discrepancies in New Hampshire’s voting systems after Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The Secretary of State’s office announced midday Tuesday that Pembroke, Tilton, Durham and Somersworth Ward 3, were selected for a random test of election accuracy.

On Thursday, state Sens. Donna Soucy and James Gray, as well as a half-dozen other officials, attorneys and representatives of Clear Ballot, an election-auditing firm, gathered in the State Archives in Concord to conduct the audit, which was overseen by the Secretary of State’s office.

The audit, which is mandated by law, requires a sample of at least 5 percent of ballots from these wards. The count of ballots recorded on the AccuVote long-tape from Election Day votes is then compared against Clear Ballot’s counting system.

No major discrepancies were found in comparing the counts across the four selections, certifying the accuracy of voting systems used in the midterm election.

The audit was open to the public and full results of the tests can be found on the Secretary of State’s website.

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Michaela Towfighi is a Report for America corps member covering the Two New Hampshires for the Monitor. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in public policy and journalism and media studies in 2022. At Duke she covered education, COVID-19, the 2020 election and helped edit stories about the Durham County Courthouse for The 9th Street Journal and the triangle area's alt-weekly Indy Week. Her story about a family grappling with a delayed trial for a fatal car accident in Concord won first place in Duke’s Melcher Family Award for Excellence in Journalism. Towfighi is an American expat who calls London, England, home despite being born in Boston.