Elections officials want you to know why counting votes takes time
From Bay Area Election Officials
After Election Day, it takes time for County Elections Officials to count all the votes and make sure that all the votes have been counted. Counties have 28 days to complete the official canvass of an election. There are many steps that must be completed to ensure the integrity of the election, and in its essence, the purpose of the canvass accomplishes the following critical tasks:
- Ensure every eligible ballot is counted
- Ensure voters only voted once
- Ensure proper procedures were followed on Election Day
- Ensure the vote tabulation system is properly counting ballots
Processing Vote by Mail ballots takes time. Each signature is verified prior to preparing the ballot for counting. Vote by Mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to seven days after Election Day must go through this process as well.
During the canvass, voting records are updated based on whether a registered voter voted by mail or in person. During this process, the number of voters is reconciled to the number of ballots cast for each voting location. This is a critical step in ensuring that all ballots are accounted for from each voting location. The statewide voter registration database linking up all 58 counties helps staff ensure voters only voted once.
During the canvass, counties are required to conduct audits of the ballot counting system, by performing the One Percent Manual Tally. This involves randomly selecting at least one percent of the precincts of ballots cast in person, as well as Vote by Mail ballots, and performing a manual hand count of each set of ballots, then comparing them to the machine count results.
“Canvassing votes involves more than just scanning ballots and tallying results,” said Kristin B. Connelly, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters. “There are many steps to ensure that ballots are counted properly, the equipment is counting correctly, and the integrity of the election is intact.”
As with all activities related to an election, the canvass is open to the public for observation. Please contact your county elections office for more details on how to observe election activities. Information on this topic as well as direct links to local elections offices can be found on our website, BayAreaVotes.org, or our Facebook page, Bay Area Votes.
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Why Does it take so long to count votes
