Ada County election officials let out an exasperated sigh on Friday afternoon when State Controller Brandon Woolf pulled tile No. 17 from a bingo cage.
“Sorry, Trent,” Woolf said, referring to Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple.
The tile means Idaho’s most populous county will be one of eight to have their primary election results audited next week. Officials in Franklin, Canyon, Lemhi, Gooding, Owyhee, Butte, Power and Ada counties will have to open up their books to state auditors for a spot check.
Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said the random post-election audits help verify the accuracy of elections around the state, and make sure counties are complying with Idaho law.
“Most notably, it’s for Idaho voters,” McGrane said. “Just to ensure that when voters go to the polls and they cast their ballot, that they can have confidence that their vote does count.”
Two of his lieutenants oversaw the process. Megan Hill, state elections director, added small wooden tiles into a bingo cage then spun it around for Woolf to draw. Dan Lee, election systems specialist, then added the information into a spreadsheet.
After selecting the eight counties, Woolf picked more tiles to designate which precincts will be audited.
The drawings marked the beginning of the audit process. McGrane said his staff will make travel arrangements to visit the eight counties.
“We’ll be comparing our audited results to the official results that were posted previously by the county,” McGrane said.
A few hours after the drawing, McGrane’s staff released a schedule for the audits:
- Monday, June 1: Gooding, Lemhi and Franklin counties
- Tuesday, June 2: Canyon County
- Wednesday, June 3: Ada County
- Thursday, June 4: Butte, Power counties
- Friday, June 5: Owyhee County
The audits are open to the public. For more information visit VoteIdaho.gov.
