Government : Benton County Post-Election Audit of Belle Plaine 2 Successful

Pursuant to Code of Iowa Sec. 50.51, the Secretary of State's Office ordered a post-election audit of the November 3, 2020, General Election. Belle Plaine 2 was chosen at random and was the precinct audited.

The Benton County Auditor's Office conducted the audit on Thursday, November 12, at 9:30 a.m. in the Supervisors Office at the Benton County Courthouse. The proceedings were open to the public.

The Auditor reported that it was a successful post-election audit. This means that the votes on the ballot matched what the voting machine reported. "This is another way that Iowa assures the integrity of voting. The hand count matched the machine count perfectly!" said Benton County Auditor Haley Rippel.
During an audit, the ballots are removed from their sealed box and it is witnessed by all of the poll workers in the room. The ballots are then sorted by which presidential candidate was chosen on each ballot this year. The ballots are then counted for each candidate to see if the numbers matched what was recorded on the voting machine. The hand-counted ballots matched perfectly with what the machine recorded.
Rippel said that the audits have been ordered by the Secretary of State and held routinely in Iowa after every election since 2018.
Photo cred Hayley Rippel