Risk Limiting Audits - What They Are and Aren't

Learn about risk-limiting audits (RLAs) and their role in election security through this 58-minute conference talk from DEF CON 33's Voting Village. Discover how RLAs function to limit the "risk" of certifying incorrect election winners and explore the various RLA methods available for different types of political elections in the US, including plurality, multiwinner plurality, supermajority, and instant-runoff voting systems. Examine the latest RLA methodologies that make it practical to audit every contest in every election, even in large jurisdictions handling hundreds of contests simultaneously. Understand how RLAs can provide comprehensive validation for well-run elections that employ trustworthy, organized methods for recording and storing votes, while learning why they cannot compensate for poorly managed elections or untrustworthy vote records. Gain insight into the distinction between effective election security measures and "security theater" that fails to genuinely limit the risk of certifying wrong winners when applied to compromised voting systems.