For American democracy to survive, it is critical that citizens have unwavering confidence in their elections. The Institute of Election Auditors (IEA) is dedicated to restoring this confidence by developing accountants into independent election experts – Certified Election Auditors® – to competently audit elections at all levels.

Our mission encompasses research, education, recruitment, testing and credentialing, all aimed at cultivating skilled and ethical professional election auditors. By providing these professionals across the nation, the IEA strives to reinforce public trust and safeguard the integrity of our democratic system.

Background

As a constitutional republic, the American political system is founded on the principle that government’s legitimacy depends on the “consent of the governed.” Hence, elections occur at every level – local, state, and federal – in order to choose representatives of the people. But those elections only achieve their function if the populace has confidence in the integrity of the reported results of those elections. The issue of voter confidence in the reported results of American elections became a matter of great concern following the 2016 Presidential election, and only became more worrisome following the 2020 Presidential race. Contemporaneous polling showed that as many as 41% of American voters were not confident in the overall integrity of the U.S. electoral system.

In recent years, numerous groups have called for routine post-election audits of election result reports, including the American Bar Association and the National Association of Secretaries of State. Additionally, in 2021 alone, lawmakers in 29 states introduced over 68 bills calling for post-election audits.

Many of the groups calling for post-election audits propose that these audits be conducted by election administrators. However, most election agencies are headed by elected officials (county clerks, secretaries of state, etc.). This arrangement raises the issue of “information asymmetry”: the phenomenon in which one party (in this case, election administrators) has more or better information than the other (in this case, voters). In other situations, information asymmetry is addressed by engaging independent outside experts to audit the process and conduct an examination to ensure election integrity. Unfortunately, there is currently no established framework to recognize or credential election auditors. IEA seeks to reduce confusion by establishing training materials and a framework to standardize the discipline of auditing elections in a neutral and nonpartisan way.

Based on these findings, on August 24, 2021, William Kresse, a Commissioner on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and an Associate Professor of Accounting, Auditing and Fraud Examination at Governors State University in Illinois, incorporated the Illinois nonprofit corporation “Institute of Election Auditors.” The bipartisan Board of Directors of IEA, which consists of CPAs, academics, election officials, and election attorneys, will ensure that IEA remains true to the pursuit of its mission without regard for partisan interests, pursuing the ideal of a more transparent and reliable democratic process for all Americans.

The Corporation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). More specifically, the Corporation seeks to restore public faith in American institutions and democratic processes, to raise public awareness of voting processes, controls and results, and to promote research, transparency, and accountability related to American elections.

Services

Services provided by the Institute include:

  • Educational services, namely, providing training, classes, and seminars for certification in the fields of election system implementation and controls, election auditing, ballot creation, voter registration, election judging, management of polling places, vote tabulation, and investigation of voting results; Providing educational examination for certification in the fields of election system implementation and controls, election auditing, ballot creation, voter registration, election judging, management of polling places, vote tabulation, and investigation of voting results.
  • Testing, analysis, and evaluation of the knowledge, skills and abilities of others in the fields of election system implementation and controls, election auditing, ballot creation, voter registration, election judging, management of polling places, vote tabulation, and investigation of voting results to determine conformity with certification standards.
  • Providing legal and regulatory compliance information in the fields of election system implementation and controls, election auditing and investigation, ballot creation, voter registration, election judging, management of polling places, vote tabulation, and investigation of voting results; Providing legal and regulatory compliance information, namely, expressing opinions on reported election results for reasonableness.

Programs & Activities

The Corporation’s programs are designed to be nonpartisan and research-driven, and to broadly educate the public. Through its activities, the Corporation seeks to support the American democratic process by restoring voter confidence, raising public awareness, and promoting research and accountability. The Corporation accomplishes these goals through the following activities.

As envisioned, IEA will initially focus on developing educational materials to train and equip accountants to conduct election audits. The IEA intends on focusing initially on educating and equipping accountants to conduct independent non-partisan post-election audits for the following reasons.

  • Accountants (especially Certified Public Accountants) can quickly learn how to conduct election audits, as the skills and techniques needed to conduct a financial audit overlap significantly with the skills and techniques for an election audit. Financial statement audits involve sampling, confirming, and tracing transaction to the final reported numbers in the financial statements, while election audits involve sampling, confirming, and tracing votes to the final election results reports. Educational programming from IEA covering election audit techniques, election procedures and election law could be quickly translated to equip accountants to take on election audits.
  • Accountants are already familiar with overseeing various types of elections, from public company proxy fights to balloting for the Oscars.
  • People trust accountants. Surveys across time and around the world place accountants (and especially Certified Public Accountants and Chartered Accountants) among the most trusted professions.

Survey research conducted in 2022 explored the possibility of having post-election audits of election results conducted by outside experts, specifically independent CPAs further credentialed as Certified Election Auditors®. When a cross section of American voters was asked whether having elections routinely audited by independent CPAs further credentialed as Certified Election Auditors® would affect their confidence in reported election results, 67.56% said that it would increase their confidence, and 40.65% said that this arrangement would lead to their voting more frequently (+/- 2% at a 95% confidence level). These results confirm that IEA’s intended activities in equipping CPAs to serve as nonpartisan and effective election auditors are likely to result in higher level of voter confidence in American elections.

Supporting Academic Research

IEA will support the election audit-related research by universities, academic think tanks and professional associations. This research will include, but will not be limited to, optimal statistical testing on ballot sample selection, survey research conducted on election authorities, CPAs, and the general public on their knowledge and acceptance of election auditing, post-audit reviews of election audits conducted, and best practices surveys on conducting election audits. IEA may also undertake such research directly.

Results of research supported by IEA will be published in academic or professional journals, and IEA will secure and retain the rights to use all such research. IEA will also develop appropriate financial reporting forms and require grant recipients to submit monthly financial reports detailing how funds have been expended. Grant recipients will also be required to submit a final financial report at the end of their research. Grant awardees must also agree to be subject to a financial audit at any time. Due to the nature of this research, funds will be appropriately restricted, including disallowing any expenditures for lobbying or political donations.

The results of the supported research are intended to be made broadly available to the general public, with a focus on educating others on the critical need for independent audits of our elections to restore public confidence in American institutions and elections.

Approximately thirty percent (30%) of the Corporation’s time and resources will be spent overseeing and conducting this program.

Development of Educational Materials

IEA will also support development of election auditing education materials, both by developing these materials directly and by awarding grants to universities, academic think tanks, and professional associations for that purpose, consistent with the above.

Education materials may include college-level textbooks and supplements on election auditing, and other educational and training materials for CPAs on various aspects of election auditing, such as conducting risk-limiting audits, conducting procedure audits, conducting compliance audits, election process, and election law. It is envisioned that all educational materials will include at least written and electronic materials, Power Point slides, lecture notes, and sample test banks.

IEA written materials will serve as a body of knowledge to address the critical needs facing the integrity of American elections. IEA may also develop other materials oriented towards equipping election auditors in the field, and may include a Code of Professional Conduct for Election Auditors, standards for conducting various types of election audit engagements, and standards for audit reports. As with the grants discussed above, IEA will support the development of these materials through grants awarded to universities, academic think tanks and other organizations interested in collaborating with IEA in developing these extensive publications in furtherance of IEA’s charitable purposes.

IEA will maintain copyrights over all materials produced by IEA or pursuant to any IEA grant, and no agreements have been made to the contrary. With respect to materials produced by third parties, IEA will determine how such materials will be disseminated upon submission to and approval by IEA. IEA may publish and distribute these materials for a fee to defray costs or negotiate an arrangement with appropriate educational publishers for use of these materials.

The developed educational materials will be made available to the broader general public, with a focus on training and equipping those who would seek to help conduct independent election audits.

Approximately seventy percent (70%) of the Corporation’s time and resources will be spent overseeing and conducting this program.

Charitable & Educational Purposes

As discussed above, Institute of Election Auditors is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Section 501(c)(3) of the Code provides that corporations organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes are exempt from federal income tax. Therefore, IEA’s activities and programs qualify the Corporation as being organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Section 1.501(c)(3)-(d)(2) of the Income Tax Regulations defines the term “charitable” as including the advancement of education or science, the lessening of the burdens of government, the lessening of neighborhood tensions, and the defense of human and civil rights secured by law. Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(3) of the Income Tax Regulations defines the term “educational” as including the instruction of the public on subjects useful to the individual and beneficial to the community.

IEA will advance education through each of its grant programs, which will support (1) research related to election audits and (2) development of educational materials. IEA’s support of research qualifies as having an educational purpose because this research will be useful for raising public awareness of the need for nonpartisan election audits to restore public confidence in the integrity of elections, as well as for training those members of the general public to conduct independent election audits. These activities will also benefit the public by increasing voter confidence and public election integrity. IEA’s support of the development of related educational materials likewise qualifies as having an educational purpose, since such programs will help develop the skills necessary to engage in election audits, and the materials produced will be used to create a standardized framework and common body of knowledge dedicated to the protection of the democratic process. By so advancing education, IEA qualifies as having both charitable and educational purposes.

Additionally, IEA advances science through its support of research related to election audits. Under IIT Research Institute v. United States, “science” is “the process by which knowledge is systematized or classified through the use of observation, experimentation, or reasoning.” Research is scientific if it “could only have been performed by an individual with advanced scientific or technical expertise,” or “add[s] to knowledge within a particular scientific field.” Id. IEA will provide research grants to academics and professional researchers who are experts in their respective fields, who will use established scientific processes to develop data for technical analysis. Only highly trained experts are capable of undertaking this research, which will be published for the benefit of other researchers and practitioners in related academic and professional fields. By advancing science through this research, IEA qualifies as having charitable purposes.

Furthermore, by means of each of its grant programs, IEA also furthers charitable purposes by lessening the burdens of government, lessening neighborhood tensions, and defending civil rights protected by law. IEA’s programs lessen the burden of government by contributing to the process of conducting elections and safeguarding their reliability. This is an important government function in American society currently belonging to the purview of election officials and state agencies. IEA’s programs protect democratic institutions and increasing public confidence in the voting process. In so doing, they also lessen tensions in American communities often created by disputed election results, which tensions sometimes erupt into violence. Finally, these programs protect the value and legitimacy of the right to vote, a vital civil right cherished by the American public and protected by American law. Because IEA’s programs further each of these important aims, IEA qualifies as having charitable purposes.

Fundraising & Revenue

The Corporation will be funded by charitable gifts, grants, and contributions, as well as program related revenues.

The Corporation has no plans to solicit gifts of real property, conservation easements, automobiles, boats, or any other form of tangible property. However, there is no policy to reject or avoid such gifts if they become available. If such gifts are offered to the Corporation, the executive officer will seek competent legal advice regarding the proper receipting process and will not assist any donor with the process of valuation. If such donated tangible assets are resold, the IRS will be properly notified in accordance with the law.

All fundraising activity shall be carried out in compliance with applicable legal requirements. The Corporation does not intend to use a professional fundraiser.

Future Plans

The Corporation plans to continue the above-listed activities and engage in similar activities strictly in accordance with its tax-exempt purposes.

Lobbying & Other Political Activity

IEA is an independent organization which acts in a non-partisan way to safeguard the integrity of American elections. It has no current plans to lobby. IEA will not intervene on behalf of any political candidate and will not engage in any political campaign activities. The Corporation will comply fully with applicable legal constraints on Section 501(c)(3) organizations regarding legislative and political campaign activities. The Corporation seeks to restore public faith in American institutions and democratic processes, to raise public awareness of voting processes, controls, and results, and to promote research, transparency, and accountability related to American elections. In particular, the Corporation is focused solely on training and equipping members of the general public, especially CPAs, as well as developing corresponding educational materials through its charitable and educational activities.

Specifically with respect to legislative activities, the Corporation has no such current activities to participate in lobbying. The Corporation will make its educational materials and speakers available to legislative bodies and legislators to provide technical advice to them upon written request. The Corporation understands that such activities do not legally constitute lobbying. If the Corporation ultimately engages in any lobbying, it will do so only in strict compliance with legal requirements to limit such activities to only “insubstantial” lobbying and will take a Section 501(h) election.