Steps to count an election

Counting your ballot securely takes time! Here's what we do after you vote. Continue to next.

Ballot Collection [In STATE, we collect all ballots at a central location for ballot tabulation]. Continue to next.

Process ballots. We process mail and Uniformed and Overseas Citizen ballots to prepare them for scanning and tabulation. If a ballot is damaged or contains machine-unreadable marks, we flag it for manual review. Our goal is to count all eligible ballots as voters intend! Continue to next.

Ballot tabulation. We scan and count all the valid votes to determine the results of each contest in the election. [In STATE, we tabulate in-person ballots at the poll sites where the vote was cast.] Continue to next.

Unofficial results. We begin publishing unofficial results after the close of polls on Election Day. Unofficial results are published on our website. Results are unofficial until after all ballot return deadlines have passed and after we have counted every valid ballot we received. Continue to next.

Audit. Audits are a normal check and balance that is part of every election. We use audits to confirm that election equipment accurately interpreted and tallied voters’ ballots, that the outcome of the election reflects how voters voted, and that election workers followed procedures. Continue to next.

Canvass of results. After all valid ballots have been counted, the [BOARD OF CANVASSERS] reviews the election, resolves discrepancies, and verifies the outcome of the election. Continue to next.

Certification of official results. After the [BOARD OF CANVASSERS] reviews and verifies the election results, the county and state certify them. Continue to next.

Ballot storage. We securely store all ballots and records as part of the official record. We aren’t allowed to open the boxes during this time. Continue to next.