FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: December 2, 2022
Information Contact: Jason Hancock, Deputy Secretary of State
Phone:(208) 332-2840

Boise, Idaho – On Tuesday, November 22, 2002, Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney announced the completion of the 2022 General Post-Election Audit. Senate Bill 1274, signed into law by the Governor this past session, created a post-election audit after each primary and general election. The counties were chosen by random ball draw weighted proportionally to their population, after which precincts from within those counties were selected.
The eight counties were randomly drawn on Friday, November 18th in the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho Capitol Building. The five audit teams, consisting of staff from the Secretary of State’s Office and party representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties, were dispatched for three days to the following counties:

• Ada
• Bonner
• Bonneville
• Kootenai
• Minidoka
• Nez Perce
• Oneida
• Shoshone

These results, while only numerical in nature, are the common starting point for the post-election audit – the comparison of a hand count of a randomly selected group of ballots, from a randomly selected group of counties – to the results published for those in the county canvass and on the county election websites. In addition to the hand recount of ballots, the postelection audit included an examination of the ballot inventory and usage for the Election Day, and when possible, Early Voting ballots for the precincts selected. The findings are as follows:

Ada (3 Precincts, 1 Early Voting Machine, and 14 Absentee Batches)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	1,350	2,541	307	4,198
SOS Audit	1,350	2,542	306	4,198
Difference	0	1	(1)	0

All of the precincts, early voting tabulation machines, and absentee ballot batches audited matched exactly the results reported in the county’s official canvass, and the results reported on the county’s elections website, with the exception of a single ballot from those processed by early voting machine EV 3-2, where one ballot counted by the tabulator as an overvote or undervote was hand counted as a “No” vote by the audit team. This is not uncommon to see with an occasional ballot, given the binary nature of how a machine tabulator reads a ballot, versus a human eye in a hand count, which can be more discerning as to voter intent.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	4,103
Ballots Cast	1,754
Ballots Spoiled	64
Expected Ballots Remaining	2,285
Actual Ballots Remaining	2,285
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day ballots in the three Ada County precincts examined matched Ada County’s records perfectly.

Total ballots counted in this audit were 4,198.

Bonner (3 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	1,064	837	150	2,051
SOS Audit	1,064	837	150	2,051
Difference	0	0	0	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in three Bonner County precincts matched exactly with the results reported in the county’s official canvass.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	2,400
Ballots Cast	1,490
Ballots Spoiled	4
Expected Ballots Remaining	906
Actual Ballots Remaining	906
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day ballots in the three Bonner County precincts examined matched Bonner County’s records perfectly. On the day of the in-person audit visit, there was originally an extra ballot in the inventory count, but it was later determined that there was one absentee ballot mixed in with the Election Day ballots. Once this ballot was put in its proper absentee storage, the numbers matched exactly.

Total Ballots counted in audit = 2,051.

Bonneville (4 Precincts and 8 Absentee Batches)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	1,195	1,030	290	2,515
SOS Audit	1,199	1,028	289	2,516
Difference	4	(2)	(1)	1

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in Bonneville County reflected a variance of four additional yes votes, two fewer no votes, and one fewer overvote/undervote, when compared to the county’s official canvass. These variances are confined to the Election Day and Early Voting ballots, and are likely due to a combination of sorting issues during the audit, and a faint marking in the ”yes” bubble, which the audit team counted as a “yes” vote, and which the tabulation machine likely did not pick up, and counted as an undervote.

Early & ED Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	3,780
Ballots Cast	2,121
Ballots Spoiled	18
Expected Ballots Remaining	1,641
Actual Ballots Remaining	1,641
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day and early voting ballots in the four Bonneville County precincts examined matched Bonneville County’s records, in total. However, one of these precincts was short a ballot in the vote count which also made the ballot inventory county short by one. In another precinct their election day count was up by one vote which also made their ballot inventory up by one. Combined, the inventory totals balance to zero difference.
Total ballots counted in audit = 2,516.

Kootenai (3 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	1,445	834	184	2,463
SOS Audit	1,445	834	184	2,463
Difference	0	0	0	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in three Kootenai County precincts matched exactly with the results reported in the county’s official canvass.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	2,596
Ballots Cast	1,554
Ballots Spoiled	12
Expected Ballots Remaining	1,030
Actual Ballots Remaining	1,030
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day ballots in the three Kootenai County precincts examined matched Kootenai County’s records perfectly.
Total ballots counted in audit = 2,463.

Minidoka (5 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	1,186	841	131	2,158
SOS Audit	1,186	841	131	2,158
Difference	0	0	0	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in five Minidoka County precincts matched exactly with the results reported in the county’s official canvass.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	3,000
Ballots Cast	1,678
Ballots Spoiled	59
Expected Ballots Remaining	1,263
Actual Ballots Remaining	1,263
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day ballots in the five Minidoka County precincts examined matched Minidoka County’s records perfectly.

Total ballots counted in audit = 2,158

Nez Perce (5 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	538	515	75	1,128
SOS Audit	538	515	75	1,128
Difference	0	0	0	0

Ballot Tally – LD 6 Senate	Nelson (D)	Foreman (R)	Hartley (C)	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	418	544	14	15	991
SOS Audit	418	544	14	15	991
Difference	0	0	0	0	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in five Nez Perce County precincts matched exactly with the results reported in the county’s official canvass.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	3,001
Ballots Cast	1,128
Ballots Spoiled	9
Expected Ballots Remaining	1,864
Actual Ballots Remaining	1,864
Difference	0

Nez Perce County had one precinct in which one ballot could not be accounted for initially in the inventory audit. The audit team missed a spoiled ballot that the County Clerk was able to provide documentation of. As a result, all four precincts’ ballot inventory audit of Election Day ballots matched Nez Perce County’s records perfectly.
Total ballots counted in audit = 2,119.

Oneida (Whole County – 6 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	933	608	111	1,652
SOS Audit	932	608	112	1,652
Difference	(1)	0	1	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in Oneida County reflected a variance of one yes vote when compared to the county’s official canvass. The reason for this variance was a single ballot with a faint marking in the ”yes” bubble, which the audit team likely counted as an overvote/undervote vote, and which the tabulation machine likely counted as a “yes” vote.

4-Precinct All-Ballots Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	3,000
Ballots Cast	1,510
Ballots Spoiled & Unreturned AB	83
Expected Ballots Remaining	1,407
Actual Ballots Remaining	1,407
Difference	0

The team audited the ballot inventory of the four Oneida County precincts in which in-person voting occurred. There were two precincts that were a ballot short in the inventory audit. However, the County Clerk was subsequently able to locate and document each. One was a spoiled absentee ballot still in its envelope that was hand delivered and reissued in the election office at the request of the voter. This ballot was found with the used absentee ballot envelopes that had been processed on Election Day. The other was also a spoiled absentee ballot that the vote tabulator was unable to read on Election Day, and so the Clerk’s elections team had to adjudicate and duplicate it. This spoiled ballot could not be found at the time the audit team was on site, but the Clerk was later able to locate it once he moved his search to the correct box of precinct materials, and provided the audit staff with documentation of this.
Total ballots counted in audit = 1,652

Shoshone (7 Precincts)

Ballot Tally – SJR 2	Yes	No	Overvotes & Undervotes	Total Ballots Cast
Official County Canvass	983	839	256	2,078
SOS Audit	983	839	256	2,078
Difference	0	0	0	0

The results of the hand recount audit of ballots cast in seven Shoshone County precincts matched exactly with the results reported in the county’s official canvass.

Election Day Ballot Inventory	Audit Totals
Ballot Supply	2,452
Ballots Cast	2,001
Ballots Spoiled	37
Expected Ballots Remaining	414
Actual Ballots Remaining	414
Difference	0

The ballot inventory of Election Day ballots in the seven Shoshone County precincts examined matched Shoshone County’s records perfectly.

Total ballots counted in audit = 2,078.

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ABOUT LAWERENCE DENNEY

Lawerence Denney has served the people of Idaho since 1990. His public service began as a representative in District 13 and, following redistricting, he became a representative in District 9 until 2014. During that time, Denney served two terms as Majority Leader and three terms as Speaker of the House before successfully running for statewide office. He will soon be retiring at the end of his second term as Idaho’s Secretary of State.