Any delay in knowing the results of an election can fuel fears of fraud if this year's presidential election. Is anything like the last one? We may not know the winner for days. Washington correspondent Jackie Defusco explains the complex process of tallying all the votes. It's election night in November, polls have closed, ballots are being counted but the night comes to an end with no clear official winner. I want to know who wins right when the polls close, just like everybody else. But it's not really realistic to expect that David Becker is the executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, *** nonpartisan organization that works with election officials all over the country. He says the voting process is complex partly because of the checks and balances involved to ensure accuracy. It's incredible how well that process works given how complex it is and how many different parts we're relying upon. So why does counting votes take so long? And is the process secure? Let's take *** look at what's involved first. Your ballot is cast in one of two ways in person or the increasingly popular vote by mail or absentee election officials track those vote by mail ballots very closely to prevent or catch any fraud. They confirm in every single state the identity of that voter to make sure they, they're the right person to return that ballot and also they haven't voted before and that's where *** big slowdown happens. Election workers must verify *** voter's eligibility and information which is usually on the envelope of the returned ballot. Once verified, the envelope is opened and the ballot separated and secured until it can legally be counted. Everything in the entire voting process has *** strict chain of custody in 43 states like Florida, Georgia and Ohio. Election workers can start some level of processing mail in or absentee ballots before election day in the remaining states including battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. That processing cannot happen until election day, November 5th. If you vote in person, just like with absentee or mail in voting, your ballot is kept secure until it's time to count, they go into *** locked sealed ballot box in every single location. That ballot box is not opened again until the tabulation process begins. The tabulation of all ballots officially begins once the polls close, unofficial results come in quickly from in person votes counted by electronic machines and electronic ballot scanners. The votes coming by mail are also scanned once they're processed and then the counts are audited for ***, they take some of the paper ballots, they count them by hand and they compare them to the machine counts to make sure the machines didn't have any significant problems. Now, it's important to recognize that the unofficial results you see can shift and the leader can change as all of those votes are counted and confirmed when you have *** huge number of ballots, they are going to be counted last, but they skew overwhelmingly towards one party. You're going to get *** shift or *** wave in the direction of that party. That's what happened in 2020 when mail in ballots were at an all time high fueling *** fire of distrust with the election process. Even despite all of the measures in place to guarantee security and integrity, we do *** lot of training and preparatory work. We have over 10,000 poll workers. These are your friends and neighbors who are on the front line running the election process. Our elections are incredibly transparent and secure. They're more transparent and secure and verified by the courts than they have ever been in American history. So this November as our election officials work to double and triple check our ballot. They're urging Americans to wait and trust the process. Our democracy is based on the integrity of our elections and when we lose confidence in that result, our country will have fallen another important point. Official outcomes are declared by election leaders based on their final vote counts, but you will see races called on election night in the media and online. That means elections officials and analysts from places like the associated press are fully confident based on current vote counts that there is *** winner.
Get the Facts: How votes are counted and why it takes so long to get results
When the polls close, the anticipation starts. Here's what you need to know.
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Updated: 11:00 PM CDT Oct 21, 2024
Unless you've worked at the polls, you may have questions about how ballots are counted, and those questions may lead to doubts. “Our democracy is based on the integrity of our elections. And when we lose confidence in that result, our country will have fallen," said Paul Pate, Iowa's secretary of state. One of the individuals working to increase voter confidence is David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan organization that works with election workers on both sides of the aisle to "restore trust in the American election system and promote election procedures that encourage greater voter participation while ensuring election integrity and security."We spoke with Becker about common misconceptions about the vote-counting process and why voters should know our elections are transparent and secure. Misconception No. 1: It is easy to deliberately interfere with election results. Truth: A complex system of checks and balances is in place to ensure accuracy and election integrity. "When ballots are voted, they go into a locked, sealed ballot box in every single location. That ballot box is not opened again until the tabulation process begins," said Becker. As polls close across the country, poll workers deliver in-person ballots to election offices, where mail-in ballots have already been delivered. The number of ballots that were given to each precinct is known in advance. That number of ballots is compared to the number of cast ballots to ensure accuracy. Election workers then verify a voter's eligibility and information, which is usually on the envelope of the returned ballot. Paper ballots are tabulated by machines. Then, workers audit those machines by counting some of the paper ballots by hand and comparing them to the machine counts to make sure the machines didn't have any significant problems. "In modern history, we don't have any instance where we can detect any significant problem in the counts," said Becker. "In fact, our elections are more transparent and secure and verified by the courts than they've ever been in American history."Misconception No. 2: Results should be known instantly or something is wrong. Truth: “I want to know who wins right when the poll closes, just like everybody else, but it's not really realistic to expect that," said Becker. Once mail-in ballots are verified, the envelope is opened, and the ballot is separated and secured until it can legally be counted. In 43 states, like Florida, Georgia and Ohio, election workers can start some level of processing mail-in or absentee ballots before Election Day. In the remaining states, including battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that processing can't even happen until Election Day, and it takes time. In addition, it's important to note that the results projected by the media on election night are unofficial. In the first few days after the election, every single state undergoes a rigorous reconciliation process to confirm the results. "They're checking the numbers of ballots against the numbers of votes. They're checking the machine counts and the audit process to make sure they match the hand counts. And then oftentimes they're doing recounts, particularly in close elections, because recounts are automatically triggered in many states when there's a close election, so there's a lot going on until ultimately the state can say with certainty, here are the winners of the election." This year, states must certify their results by Dec. 11. If the deadline is not met, then the law allows for an expedited appeals process.Check out the video above to learn about more common misconceptions and how ballots are counted. This story is featured in a half-hour news special called "Commitment 2024: Get the Facts."To watch the full episode, check your local listings for air dates or stream for free on the Very Local app.
Unless you've worked at the polls, you may have questions about how ballots are counted, and those questions may lead to doubts.
“Our democracy is based on the integrity of our elections. And when we lose confidence in that result, our country will have fallen," said Paul Pate, Iowa's secretary of state.
One of the individuals working to increase voter confidence is David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan organization that works with election workers on both sides of the aisle to "restore trust in the American election system and promote election procedures that encourage greater voter participation while ensuring election integrity and security."
We spoke with Becker about common misconceptions about the vote-counting process and why voters should know our elections are transparent and secure.
Misconception No. 1: It is easy to deliberately interfere with election results.
Truth: A complex system of checks and balances is in place to ensure accuracy and election integrity. "When ballots are voted, they go into a locked, sealed ballot box in every single location. That ballot box is not opened again until the tabulation process begins," said Becker. As polls close across the country, poll workers deliver in-person ballots to election offices, where mail-in ballots have already been delivered. The number of ballots that were given to each precinct is known in advance. That number of ballots is compared to the number of cast ballots to ensure accuracy. Election workers then verify a voter's eligibility and information, which is usually on the envelope of the returned ballot. Paper ballots are tabulated by machines. Then, workers audit those machines by counting some of the paper ballots by hand and comparing them to the machine counts to make sure the machines didn't have any significant problems. "In modern history, we don't have any instance where we can detect any significant problem in the counts," said Becker. "In fact, our elections are more transparent and secure and verified by the courts than they've ever been in American history."
Misconception No. 2: Results should be known instantly or something is wrong.
Truth: “I want to know who wins right when the poll closes, just like everybody else, but it's not really realistic to expect that," said Becker. Once mail-in ballots are verified, the envelope is opened, and the ballot is separated and secured until it can legally be counted. In 43 states, like Florida, Georgia and Ohio, election workers can start some level of processing mail-in or absentee ballots before Election Day. In the remaining states, including battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that processing can't even happen until Election Day, and it takes time. In addition, it's important to note that the results projected by the media on election night are unofficial. In the first few days after the election, every single state undergoes a rigorous reconciliation process to confirm the results. "They're checking the numbers of ballots against the numbers of votes. They're checking the machine counts and the audit process to make sure they match the hand counts. And then oftentimes they're doing recounts, particularly in close elections, because recounts are automatically triggered in many states when there's a close election, so there's a lot going on until ultimately the state can say with certainty, here are the winners of the election." This year, states must certify their results by Dec. 11. If the deadline is not met, then the law allows for an expedited appeals process.
Check out the video above to learn about more common misconceptions and how ballots are counted. This story is featured in a half-hour news special called "Commitment 2024: Get the Facts."
To watch the full episode, check your local listings for air dates or stream for free .
