The audit of Idaho’s general election results found no major issues. The State board of canvassers Tuesday released its mandatory audit report of eight randomly selected counties. It found “minor” discrepancies in a few ballots, none of which affected any individual races.
Auditors conducted hand recounts of multiple precincts in each selected county. Errors were found in six counties out of the eight selected; Bear Lake, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Jerome, and Latah counties. The largest number of discrepancies, involving 12 ballots, was found in Elmore County, while Bingham and Minidoka’s unofficial results matched findings from the audit recount,
Chief Deputy Secretary of State Nicole Fitzgerald said the discrepancies were attributed to tabulation machines unable to read certain ballots later identified, voters not filing their ballots correctly or voting in the wrong precinct, mislabeling and poll worker errors.
“Our audit really highlights that there are some process improvements,” she said while presenting findings in front of the board. “But it also demonstrates that Idaho's election results are reliable. The election results did stand as a result of our audit.”
Fitzgerald said the election process was secure and accurate.
“These findings have been addressed with tailored recommendations to improve future election protocols,” the report reads.
The Secretary of State’s office said this was the largest election in Idaho’s history, with 917,469 votes cast, beating the state’s previous record from 2020’s general election when 878,527 Idahoans cast their ballot.
