MD HB426

Requires the State Board of Elections, with local boards, to conduct risk-limiting audits after each statewide election, auditing at least one statewide contest and any other contests selected by the State Board

Authorizes but no longer requires automated software audits after statewide elections, and permits the State Board to conduct risk-limiting audits after special general elections

Risk-limiting audits must manually examine randomly chosen voter-verifiable paper records until a statistical risk limit is met or the correct outcome is established, and must be completed before the Board of State Canvassers certifies results

If an audit finds the electronic count outcome is incorrect, the State Administrator must direct the Board of Canvassers to investigate within 3 days and correct the election result per State Board regulations

Repeals the previous requirement for manual audits of at least 2% of precincts and 1% of early, absentee, and provisional votes within 120 days after general elections; effective June 1, 2025