Election results will not be certified for weeks: Here's why
SACRAMENTO - Elections can often take weeks or longer to be certified. With more people mailing in ballots in California, longer results on elections may continue.
"It takes us many days for us to get through and process those ballots," said Janna Haynes, a spokesperson for Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections.
Sacramento County started tabulating absentee ballots last week. It normally starts at least two weeks before Election Day due to the high number of early voters.
"We want to be caught up as possible as we kind of get a flood of votes by mail that comes closer and closer to Election Day," Haynes said.
In 2018, Sacramento County began mailing-out ballots, allowing voters to cast their ballots at their convenience. Since then, the trend has grown, resulting in fewer than 10% of voters voting in person on Election Day.
"They are utilizing the vote-by-mail ballots more than ever before," Haynes said.
However, mail-in ballots go through extra steps to be validated. On each mail-in ballot, there's a barcode that is linked to the signature they have on file. Those signatures must match in order to be passed on. From there, the ballot goes to a separate room where it is examined for rips or stains that could obstruct the tabulator. Once cleared, it can be counted.
"There are up to five steps that every ballot has to go through. You can imagine if you have hundreds of thousands of ballots waiting to go through these processes, they can take a little bit longer," Haynes said.
California election offices have 29 days after Election Day to certify the vote.
"We will take every day of that 29 days if we need to ensure the results are accurate," Haynes said.
Places to report Election Day violations:
- California Secretary of State complaint form
- Local Federal US Attorney's Office Election Fraud information
- Phones: 916-554-2700 and 916-554-2723
- Federal Department of Justice complaint form
- Toll-free phone line: 800-253-3931