Correction: A previous version of this story misstated that the mail-in ballots are checked by volunteers. They are in fact checked by trained election staff.
This story has been updated to correct information about the timing of when election results will come out. A correction was also made to reflect that county elections offices will contact voters whose ballot envelope signatures do not match those on file.
Today is the last day to vote on California’s special election Proposition 50. The measure would temporarily redraw the state’s congressional maps to favor Democrats in five key districts, bypassing California’s independent redistricting committee.
The measure is a reaction to state lawmakers in Texas reworking their own congressional district lines to give Republicans more power in Congress.
Once residents cast their ballots, what happens next? CapRadio talked to county elections officials and experts to better understand when we’ll know the results after the last of voters get in line for the polls at 8 p.m.
When are results released?
Typically, results are released in three waves on election night after the polls close.
The first batch of results will be viewable for each county in the state on the California Secretary of State website. This will show preliminary results and will be updated daily around 5 p.m. until December 12, when the results must be certified.
Sacramento County Spokesperson Ken Casparis told CapRadio that the first report for how Sacramento county residents vote will generally come around 8:15 p.m. This will be predominantly reflective of the mail-in ballots received before election day.
“ The first report out is mostly just what we've collected so far on election day,” he said. “It doesn't include all of the ballots that come to us after the vote centers are closed.”
After that, the next wave will be at 10 p.m. with results from ballots cast at vote centers counted on election day, according to the county’s website. Subsequent updates should arrive every two hours.
The third wave of results comes from mail ballots dropped off at voting sites in-person on election day, said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. She calls this the “pig in the python” effect. It’s a labor-intensive process that requires county elections staff to remove the ballots from their envelopes, verify voter signatures and ultimately scan and count each ballot.
“The big wave that will come after that are the vote-by-mail ballots that were returned on election day or that arrive by U.S. mail on the seven-day grace period and are postmarked by election day,” Alexander said. “So that can be up to 20% to 25% of all the ballots cast in a county.”
In California, voters are contacted by their elections office if the signature on the outside of their ballot envelope does not match the one on file, or if there’s missing or incorrect information. Voters are provided with several ways to submit a new signature to ensure their ballot is counted.
When is the race called?
If there’s a large lead for or against Prop 50 after the first three batches of results come in, campaign officials might declare victory or concede defeat. But if it’s a tight race, the outcome might not be known for days or weeks as the remaining mail ballots arrive at election offices.
According to Casparis, those counting ballots generally have a pretty good idea of how the vote will be decided after the first few weeks of reporting results.
He noted that regardless of the fact that it’s a special election, the process will operate similar to normal election years.
“If turnout is lower, there's less to count. But I wouldn't expect final results any earlier than past elections,” Casparis said. “It typically takes maybe two or three weeks before we have a pretty complete picture.”
That being said, all California counties by law must finish counting and give their final results to the state 30 days after the election. The Secretary of State then has eight days after that to certify their results.
Why does it take so long?
The California voting system is complex and large. The state relies heavily on mail-in ballots, which are checked meticulously by trained election staff.
Alexander said the reason for the timing is multifaceted.
“We make sure that nobody is left out and in doing so, we also have to make sure that nobody's voting more than once,” she said. “That takes a lot of due diligence on the back end of the process to verify ballots to make sure that we're only getting one ballot counted per voter.”
Alexander noted the influx of voters waiting to turn in their ballots until election day also can delay the process.
Speaking on behalf of the Sacramento County elections office, Casparis said that each ballot gets two sets of human eyes on them.
“We want to make sure we are being as thorough as possible during this process,” he said. “We know how frustrating it can be but we just wanna make sure that we get it right.”
Voters are still able to have their ballot counted so long as they get in line at a vote center or polling place by 8 p.m.
The state certified results for the special election will be available Dec. 12. You’ll be able to find the final, certified results here.
Here is our live election results tracker:
Loading...
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today
