Voting systems and methods for processing provisional ballots and performing a risk limiting audit

Abstract

A voting system comprises a ballot tabulation device that tabulates each of a plurality of paper ballots by determining one or more contest selections marked on the paper ballot and storing the contest selections within a cast vote record (CVR) for the paper ballot. One or more of the paper ballots comprises a provisional ballot on which is printed an identification code that represents or is associated with a voter code assigned to a voter who cast the provisional ballot. During the tabulation process, a direct or indirect link is provided between the CVR and the voter code for the provisional ballot. The voting system also comprises an election management system that identifies the CVR associated with each of one or more inputted voter codes, i.e., the voter codes assigned to voters who have had a change in eligibility status, and updates the total vote count to include or exclude the contest selections stored within that CVR as applicable. Preferably, the election management system is configured to prevent a user from accessing the contest selections stored in the CVR for the provisional ballot based on the voter code. For audit purposes, a ballot code may also be printed on each paper ballot, wherein the ballot code may optionally serve as the identification code for a provisional ballot.