A risk-limiting audit is best described as:

• A. A post-election audit that uses statistical methods to limit the risk of certifying an incorrect outcome.
• B. A pre-election audit used to simulate outcomes.
• C. A process to survey voter satisfaction.
• D. An audit of candidate finances.

Answer: (A)

A risk-limiting audit is a post-election procedure that uses statistical evidence from ballots to limit the probability of certifying a winner who did not actually win. After the election, auditors randomly sample ballots and compare them to the reported electronic tally. The process is guided by a pre-set risk limit—the maximum acceptable chance that the announced outcome is incorrect. If the observed discrepancies stay within what the risk limit allows, officials can confidently certify the result. If discrepancies exceed that bound, the audit escalates, potentially to a full hand count, to further reduce the risk. This approach provides a quantitative guarantee about the accuracy of the outcome, unlike pre-election simulations, surveys of voter satisfaction, or audits of finances.