Performing a Manual
(Hand-Counted) Audit
Tips for Registrars
BE PREPARED
* Choose venue & book it
* Recruit workers
* Review audit guidelines
* Have training plan
* Payroll & amenities for workers
IF A DISTRICT IN YOUR TOWN IS
SELECTED
Determine number of ballots to be counted.
Decide which audit method you will use.
Decide how to batch the ballots—by 10? 25?
Do a “test run” with some practice ballots.
Design tally sheets for workers’ hash marks. Design
a master tally worksheet. Make extras.
IF A DISTRICT IN YOUR TOWN IS
SELECTED… cont.
Decide strategy for tallying multiple-opening offices.
Understand reporting forms and how to report questionable votes,
write-in votes, and votes for cross-endorsed candidates.
Organize your teams—fair and balanced.
Assemble supplies.
Assume that you will have citizen observers
AUDIT DAY
•
•
•
•
•
Security of ballots and verification of seals
Do you have ALL your machine-counted ballots?
Swear in workers.
Set-up your audit site—adequate space, light.
Use 4-person teams, balanced by party affiliation
or with unaffiliated workers—1 reader, 1
observer, 2 hash-markers.
• Brief your workers on their jobs. Answer
questions
Audit Day…cont.
FIRST, teams
count and
separate the
ballots.
Does total
match
machine
tape total?
Teams pull
out any
ballots that
have
questionable
votes and
write-in
votes. Keep
these
separate.
Batch
into
groups of
25 (or 10,
or ??).
Label
each
batch.
After every
batch of 25
ballots,
markers
stop, total,
and
compare
hash-mark
numbers for
each
candidate.
Each team
keeps
completed
batches of 25
ballots
intact—with
its hash mark
sheets—until
a candidate’s
count is
completed
and
confirmed.
Audit Day…cont.
• Transfer each team’s totals, by candidate,
onto master worksheet.
• Registrars add other teams’ results and
compare with the tabulator tape.
• Registrars record & describe any
candidate votes that are “questionable”
on the SOTS Audit Report in Column E.
Handling Discrepancies
General concepts
Re-check most recent tabulation.
• Math errors
• Hashmark totals
• Questionable votes
Recount if necessary.
• Switch readers
• Use fresh worksheets.
Questionable Ballots
• Machine reads many votes correctly if bubble
partially filled, circled, or X’ed.
• When in doubt, add to Column E and
describe. These votes may explain your
discrepancies.
• Count 1 vote—Party Unknown—for Crossendorsed candidates if both ovals filled.
• True overvotes are not counted by machine.
Reminders
Use “blind counting” when you count or
recount any race.
Smaller batches of ballots are easier to count
and reconcile.
Do not make any marks on the ballot.
Don’t move on to next step in tabulating totals
until previous calculations are reconciled.
Your role is to supervise and solve problems,
not to count.
Wethersfield Procedures
• Registrars pick up the ballots for selected District(s) .
Make sure you have all the ballots that went through
the machine. Keep ballots under supervision at all
times.
• Compare seal numbers on the ballot bag to the
Moderators return—should be in ballot bag.
• Teams of three: one reader, one hash marker, and one
to check on both.
Wethersfield cont.
• The ballots are viewed one by one and placed in two
piles: one that the machine could read and second that
the machine maybe didn’t read.
• Count and batch ballots into piles of 25.
• Verify total against the tape from election night.
• Then the hand count of each pile begins. Sticky note
on each pile for number 1 etc. and the breakdown is
placed on top of each pile secured with a paper clip.
Wethersfield cont.
• Each table does its count. If there are any
discrepancies, a different table does the second count.
Continue until all ballots are accounted for against the
tape.
• Complete the SOTS form totally and attach a duplicate
tape from election night. If it does not balance with
the protocol, you count again until there is a correct
count. If you cannot explain differences you must
report to SOTS.
Wethersfield cont.
• All ballots are resealed into the containers and
returned to the locked storage, by both registrars.
• Reminder: Observers are allowed and encouraged to
see the whole process but not to interfere.
Party Line Ballots
• Many medium size to large cities
will have voters that tend to vote
party lines
• 2 people working together
• Put all ballots in same direction –
• look at each ballot to see if it is
a straight line voting ballot &
able to be counted by the
Tabulator

Put top line straight
voted ballots in one pile
(Republicans)

Put next line straight
voted ballots in one pile
(Democrats)
 Put all other ballots that
do not fit any straight line
voting in the last pile
Take each pile and count
ballots in groups of “10“
crises crossing ballots in
each pile
 Record number on sticky
on top of ballot piles
 Verify number of ballots

Record numbers for each
candidate on the Republican
line from the sticky on that
pile

Record number for each
candidate on the Democratic
line from the sticky on that
pile

Now the two of you must
do the third pile together

One reads – one records


By counting by the 10’s we
find it easier to find one’s
counting errors
By separating the ballots by
voting lines - you save time in
reading each ballot
 Many counters eyes get very
tired & errors occur when
counting large numbers of
ballots
 If you can use observers to
watch the process – they
sometimes will see errors that
counters or recorders make
when getting tired
 Try not to go over 4 hours –
the adult learning ability is at
it’s maximum at 4 hours


If you are doing multiple
counting groups in the same
room – it is nice when everyone is
doing the same procedure.
But remember that not all
people can do every procedure
 they may have a style
themselves & they should
try it.