Idaho Secretary of State McGrane Explains Why Post-Election Audits Matter for Voter Confidence

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane joined State Controller Brandon Woolf on Thursday to conduct a public post-election audit draw, selecting counties and precincts to undergo hand-count verification following this month’s May Primary election.

The draw used a raffle-style drum to randomly select eight counties — Franklin, Canyon, Lemhi, Gooding, Owyhee, Butte, Power, and Ada — whose paper ballots will be reviewed by audit teams over the coming week. Election workers will hand-count ballots from those jurisdictions and compare the results against the official canvassed totals.

A Public Process, by Design

McGrane, who previously served as Ada County Clerk before being elected Secretary of State in 2022, said he championed statewide post-election audits well before taking his current office. In a statement accompanying the draw, he described the process as serving two purposes: giving election officials a chance to verify their own work, and giving the public a direct window into how results are secured and confirmed.

“Audits are among the most important tools we have to verify the accuracy of election results,” McGrane wrote, adding that the process demonstrates election integrity is “something my office and every clerk in our 44 counties are working to guarantee.”

Election Director Megan Hill and Voting Systems Specialist Dan Lee also participated in the draw alongside McGrane and Woolf, who serves as a fellow member of the State Board of Canvassers.

Why Audits Matter

Post-election audits rarely attract the public attention that election-night returns do, but McGrane argued they represent one of the most consequential parts of the electoral process. By physically comparing paper ballots against certified results, audits provide an independent check on voting equipment and tabulation software — a safeguard that election officials say builds durable, evidence-based public trust rather than relying solely on assurances.

The full list of selected counties and precincts has been released publicly as part of the audit announcement.

Idaho conducts post-election audits following both primary and general elections. With several contested races from the May Primary still awaiting final resolution, including a district judge runoff in Ada County headed to November, the audit process will provide an additional layer of verification before those results become final building blocks of the general election cycle.

What Comes Next

Audit teams are expected to begin traveling to selected county election offices within days. Results of the hand-count comparisons will be reviewed by state officials. If the audited totals match the canvassed results, the process serves as independent confirmation that Idaho’s election equipment and procedures are functioning accurately. Any discrepancy would trigger further review under state protocol.

McGrane took office in January 2023 as Idaho’s twenty-eighth Secretary of State after a career focused on election administration at the county level. His office oversees elections across all 44 Idaho counties.