The state’s largest-ever post-election audit of voting equipment determined that Wisconsin’s ballots were counted accurately in the 2022 election.
The review found no mechanical errors, and members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted unanimously during a Thursday meeting to certify an effective error rate of 0.0%.
Republican commissioner Bob Spindell called the results “remarkable,” and said the audit “should give confidence to the people of Wisconsin that these machines work properly.”
State law requires WEC to audit the state’s voting systems and determine an error rate following every general election.
The hand-counted review covered 10% of the state’s reporting units and more than 222,000 ballots. It included at least one reporting unit per county, and at least five reporting units for each type of equipment used.
The audit found just six issues, all of which were attributed to human error. Those included ballots with creases, stray marks and tears, and one ballot marked with green ink. In each of those cases, WEC staff said, poll workers should have identified the errors.
The audit found no evidence of any machine changing votes, incorrectly tabulating votes or altering the outcome of an election.
“It’s crystal clear the machines are functioning the way we want them to function, and are accurate,” said Democratic commissioner Ann Jacobs.
