Local election officials are conducting audits to confirm the accuracy of the November 8 General Election ahead of the state certification of election results
On November 21, Secretary of State Steve Simon visited Anoka County as election officials conducted post-election reviews of election results. The review in Anoka County included a hand count of the ballots in the U.S. Representative, Governor and Secretary of State contests from six precincts in the county.
“As election officials, our work doesn’t end on Election Night,” said Secretary Simon. “Post-election audits are one example of the procedures in place after all the ballots are cast to ensure that our election was free, fair, secure, and accurate.”
Post-election reviews are one of the final checks to ensure the accuracy of the election results. In each county, a certain number of precincts are randomly selected at the county canvass. The ballots from those precincts are then hand-counted to make sure that the results the voting machines reported on Election Day are an accurate reflection of the marked ballots. Results must meet the acceptable performance standards outlined in the statute; otherwise, additional precincts must be reviewed.
By law, Minnesota counties are required to administer a post-election review between 11 and 18 days after each general election to confirm the accuracy of results ahead of the state certification. The process is open to the public and the dates, times and locations can be found on the Secretary of State’s website.
The State Canvassing Board is scheduled to meet to certify the state election results on November 29. The State Canvassing Board meeting will be held at the Minnesota State Office Building at 1 p.m. The meeting will also be broadcast live on the Minnesota House's HTV1 streaming channel.
Learn more about Minnesota’s election administration at mnvotes.gov/facts.