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November 16, 2023 - Harrisburg, PA

Department of State Livestreams Kickoff of Pennsylvania's Statewide Risk-Limiting Audit of the 2023 Municipal Election

To continue Governor Shapiro's commitment to transparency about election administration in the Commonwealth, the Department of State live streamed the process to randomly select batches of ballots from the Nov. 7, 2023, municipal election that will be audited as part of Pennsylvania's third statewide risk-limiting audit (RLA).

"National experts consider RLAs the highest standard of comprehensive election audits," Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. "The RLA process provides a statistically sound method for confirming, with a high degree of confidence, that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate."

During the livestream, 10 Department employees took turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they rolled generated a random 20-digit "seed number." That seed number will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days.

Speakers Include:
Al Schmidt - Secretary of the Commonwealth
Jonathan Marks - Deputy Secretary for Elections



The Department of State livestreams a kickoff of Pennsylvania's statewide risk-limiting audit of the 2023 Municipal Election, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_01.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> The Department of State livestreams a kickoff of Pennsylvania's statewide risk-limiting audit of the 2023 Municipal Election, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_02.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_03.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_04.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_05.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt oversees Pennsylvania's statewide risk-limiting audit of the 2023 Municipal Election, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_06.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_07.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_08.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_09.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_10.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt describes the rules and benefits of a risk-limiting audit, which provides a statistically sound method for confirmation that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_11.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_12.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_13.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> Deputy Secretary for Elections Jonathan Marks describes the rules and benefits of a risk-limiting audit, which provides a statistically sound method for confirmation that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_14.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> Deputy Secretary for Elections Jonathan Marks describes the rules and benefits of a risk-limiting audit, which provides a statistically sound method for confirmation that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_15.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt describes the rules and benefits of a risk-limiting audit, which provides a statistically sound method for confirmation that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_16.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_17.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a> During the risk-limiting audit, 10 Department of State employees take turns rolling 10-sided dice. The numbers they roll generate a random 20-digit "seed number" that will be used to determine which batches of ballots counties will audit over the next few days, in Harrisburg, PA on November 16, 2023.<br><a href="https://filesource.amperwave.net/commonwealthofpa/photo/24032_DOS_RiskLimitingAudit_18.jpg" target="_blank">⇣ Download Photo</a>