Election Day may be over, but the Registrar of Voters (ROV) is still at work processing thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots. Those results could make a difference in a few very close races.
For latest results, visit SDVote.com
Here’s what happens when the polls close on Election Day. Ballots from the precincts are taken to the ROV and results are released as they are processed. Those ballots made up about 63 percent of the total vote.
The remaining 37 percent of ballots – about 475,000 of them – are vote-by-mail and provisional ballots
Of those 475,000 ballots, about 100,000 arrived in the mail at the ROV on Monday and Tuesday.
Another 275,000 mail ballots were dropped off at the polls Tuesday and about 90,000 provisional ballots also came from the polling places Tuesday.
Workers are now busy opening all of those ballots and then verifying the signatures on every one.
Provisional ballots require yet another step. They must be reviewed carefully to make sure those voters inked in the oval spots for the races in their home precinct. If they voted in contests outside their home precinct, those contests cannot be counted.
“This is not really a new phenomenon,” said Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler. “But this is the largest number of mail and provisional ballots that we’ve ever had.”
Here are some factors in this election.
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High Turnout: Estimated at 80 to 85 percent.
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More Registered Voters: 1.6 million, the highest ever for San Diego County
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More precincts were opened than in the June Primary Election, up from 1,432 to 1,527
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More mail ballots than ever before were issued by the Registrar’s office; more than 900,000.
Workers will continue to verify and count mail-in and provisional ballots daily, with new numbers expected to be released at 5 p.m. Thursday. After that, the ROV expects to issue new results at 5 p.m. each weekday, including the Veteran’s Day Holiday Monday, Nov. 12. Close contests are not decided until all the ballots are in the count and could take days or weeks depending on the circumstances. Results must be certified 28 days after Election Day on Dec. 4.
For the latest results, visit sdvote.com.
