Election Law - Postelection Tabulation Audits - Risk-Limiting Audits

SB 313 requires Maryland's State Board of Elections, working with local election boards, to conduct risk-limiting audits after every statewide election instead of the previous manual audit requirement. These audits use statistical methods to verify election results by examining a statistically significant sample of votes, focusing on at least one statewide contest and one local contest per county. The bill also allows but does not require an automated software audit of electronic ballot images after statewide elections. This change directly affects election officials responsible for post-election verification and aims to improve the accuracy verification process for statewide election results.