One 'no' vote as state election officials adopt new audit guidelines

A meeting of top state officials this week yielded new recommendations for post-election audits in a step to firm up guidelines at a time when former President Donald Trump and his allies have leaned on partisan reviews of the 2020 election to question the results.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, a Republican, was the sole “No” vote at the meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State on Monday. The group approved new guidelines that recommend states set specific timelines governing the duration of audits and ensure the involvement of local governments in any such inquiries, among other things. Republican Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was present but abstained from voting.