Why Audit

Statement Lillie Coney 2007 Post Election Audit Summit Why Audit for Transparency? Minneapolis, MN October 26, 2007 Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.” -- James Madison Auditing is typically used in relationship to financial matters. An independent body defines auditing in most settings as an official inspection of an individual or an organization’s accounts. The conditions for effective auditing is dependent on well defined and established rules for conducting reviews called audits. The challenge before the all of us is to create a process that will lead to the establishment of “Generally Accepted Election Auditing Procedures,” which will not compromise voter privacy and be meaningful in a public election. Auditing is not just concerned with accountability or oversight of the processes and procedures that reports on the health of entity, it is most importantly about transparency. Transparency or open records laws ensure greater transparency, accountability and oversight over the activities of financial institutions, local, state, and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Open records laws are used to support government accountability because we know that disclosure standards; increase ...