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Registrar of Voters
Registrar of Voters

How Your Vote Is Counted

Vote centers close at 8:00 pm on Election Night, but it can take a few hours for all vote centers to report results, and weeks before the final totals are known. Ever wondered why? Here's a quick look at what happens to your ballot after you cast it.

Election Night

  • The first results are posted shortly after 8:00 pm - these are the Vote by Mail ballots that were returned early
  • After that, we have to wait for the first of the Vote Centers across the county to complete their paperwork, pack up their supplies, and return the ballots - this can take more than an hour
  • As vote centers report in, their results are tabulated and compiled into countywide results
  • The posted results are updated periodically throughout the night - the results web page will show how many vote centers have reported and the time of the last update
  • When all vote centers have reported, the Election Night counting is done; however, there are still more ballots to count and a lot more work to do before the results become official (see below)

Post-Election Canvass

California Elections Code requires the Registrar of Voters to perform a post-election canvass before certifying the final results. The canvass period usually lasts for 30 days after a statewide primary or general elections. During this time, ROV counts all remaining valid ballots and performs a series of mandated audits to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the election.

Election Results will be updated daily during the Canvass period.

Ballots Counted After Election Day

  • "Last Minute" Vote by Mail Ballots: Vote by Mail ballots that arrive on Election Day are processed and counted starting the next day; these take longer to count than a precinct ballot because they have to be signature-verified; most of these are counted by the Friday after the election
  • Postmarked Vote by Mail Ballots: Under California law, ballots may be counted even if they arrive after Election Day, as long as they are received by mail no later than ​7 days after the election and are postmarked on or before Election Day
  • Provisional Ballots: these are the usually the last ballots counted because they have to be researched & verified; it may take a few weeks, but every valid vote will be counted
  • Damaged/Unreadable Ballots: some ballots are torn, damaged, or marked in such a way that the tallying machines can't read them and require additional processing
  • Write-In Votes: when the voter writes in the name of a candidate, that vote must be tallied manually

Audits

  • Review of all paperwork completed at the precincts to make sure all ballots are accounted for
  • Manual recount of ballots from a random 1% sample of precincts to ensure that vote tabulation equipment is working accurately

Download the Canvass Procedure Manual