After the 2016 and 2020 elections, public concerns about election security spiked due to foreign interference and insider threats against American elections. Voting systems used to count votes are one potential vector of such an attack. Any voting system used in elections is vulnerable to programming errors, hacking, or malicious interference. Election officials must conduct robust post-election audits to ensure votes are recorded and tallied as cast and to help restore public confidence in elections.

The “gold standard” of election audits, risk-limiting audits (RLAs) are the most efficient auditing type (regardless of voting method), and can be implemented through ballot comparison, ballot polling, or hybrid auditing methods in single-winner RCV contests. RLAs are reliable and efficient, but they are uncommon in the United States, and have almost never been used in ranked-choice voting (RCV) elections. With RCV gaining popularity, implementing RLAs in ranked-choice races will help ensure quality RCV elections. This report will provide an overview of RLAs in RCV elections and how to expand their use in RCV.