AP18:085
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575
California Vote Counting—What To Expect
SACRAMENTO - County elections officials are hard at work continuing to count ballots from the June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election. County elections officials have up to 30 days after Election Day to complete their extensive tallying, auditing, and certification work (known as the “official canvass”). The frequency of updated results varies by county.
County elections officials must report their final results to the Secretary of State by July 6. The Secretary of State will certify the results to the Governor by July 13, 2018.
California’s county elections officials have already processed and counted 4.18 million ballots from the June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election. County elections officials report to the Secretary of State’s office estimates of the number of outstanding ballots they still have to process.
“County elections officials are hard at work processing and counting ballots,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “Ensuring the accuracy and the integrity of the vote count is critical to our democracy. State law gives county elections officials up to 30 days after Election Day to complete vote counting, auditing, and certification. In California, we work to ensure every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,” Padilla added.
Vote-by-Mail Ballots
Voting by mail has increased significantly in recent years and while most vote-by-mail ballots arrive on or before Election Day, many arrive after. State law requires that vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by county elections officials no later than 3 days after Election Day must be processed. The third day after this election is Friday, June 8.
Provisional Ballots
In California, provisional ballots serve as a fail-safe method of ensuring all voters who show up to the polls can cast a ballot.
All provisional ballots are carefully checked by county elections officials to confirm that the person who voted provisionally is both registered and that they did not cast a ballot by mail or at another polling location on Election Day.
NOTE: The Secretary of State’s office does not issue, receive, or count ballots. Elections officials in each of California’s 58 counties process and count ballots, and transmit results to the Secretary of State’s office. The Secretary of State’s office compiles all of these results in the official Statement of Vote.
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