non-tech discussion of rlas in the 2020 ga election
https://thefulcrum.us/voting/georgia-election-audit
are rlas intended to detect electoral fraud???
i am just doing a quick wiki definitional scan, but i do not see this concern addressed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk-limiting_audit
[last changed 2020 sept 3]
[summary(?)]
A risk-limiting audit (RLA) is one way of checking whether computers tallied an election accurately. It involves (1) storing paper ballots securely until they can be checked,[1] (2) manually comparing a statistical sample of paper ballots to the computers’ records for those same ballots,[2] and (3) checking whether all the computer records of ballots in the election were totalled correctly.[3]
Advantages of an RLA include: samples can be small and inexpensive if the margin of victory is large;[3] there are options for the public to watch and verify each step;[1] and errors found in any step lead to corrective actions, including larger samples, up to a 100% hand count if needed. Disadvantages include: the sample needs to be a large fraction of all ballots to minimize the chance of missing mistakes, if any contest is close; and it is hard to check computer totals publicly, except by releasing computer records to the public.[4] If examining sampled ballots shows flaws in ballot storage, the usual approach cannot recover correct results,[5] and researchers recommend a re-vote if the number of ballots held in flawed storage is enough to change winners.[6] An alternative to re-votes is to create and verify backups of the paper ballots soon after they are voted, so there is an alternative to flawed storage of the original ballots.
As with other election audits, the goal is to identify not only intentional alterations of ballots and tallies, but also bugs in election machines, such as software errors, scanners with blocked sensors[7] or scanners skipping some ballots. The approach does not assume that all ballots, contests or machines were handled the same way, in which case spot checks could suffice. The sample sizes are designed to have a high chance of catching even a brief period when a scratch or fleck of paper blocks one sensor of one scanner, or a bug or hack switches votes in one precinct or one contest, if these problems affect enough ballots to change the result.
Comparisons can be done ballot-by-ballot or precinct-by-precinct, though the latter is more expensive.[8]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_fraud
[last edit: 2020 nov 12]
[summary(?)]
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election fraud, election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both.[1] It differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country.
Electoral legislation outlaws many kinds of election fraud,[2] but other practices violate general laws, such as those banning assault, harassment or libel. Although technically the term “electoral fraud” covers only those acts which are illegal, the term is sometimes used[by whom?] to describe acts which are legal, but considered morally unacceptable, outside the spirit of an election or in violation of the principles of democracy.[3][4] Show elections, featuring only one candidate, are sometimes classified[by whom?] as electoral fraud, although they may comply with the law and are presented more as referendums/plebiscites.
In national elections, successful electoral fraud on a sufficient scale can have the effect of a coup d’état,[citation needed] protest[5] or corruption of democracy. In a narrow election, a small amount of fraud may suffice to change the result. Even if the outcome is not affected, the revelation of fraud can reduce voters’ confidence in democracy. In April 2020 a 20-year review of voter fraud in the United States,[6] since it occurs only in “0.00006 percent” of instances nationally, and, in one state, “0.000004 percent — about five times less likely than getting hit by lightning in the United States.”[7]
[...]
Risk-limiting audits are methods to assess the validity of an election result statistically without the effort of a full election recount.
[note: conflicts with definition given in the risk-limiting audit entry(??); potentially misleading(??)]
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