Election Day may be over, but ballot counting continues until certification

EPHRATA — While polls have closed and preliminary results have been released, election officials in Grant County still have weeks of work ahead before the Nov. 24 certification deadline.

“We are still counting ballots,” Grant County Elections Coordinator Rebecca Pettingill said.

As ballots arrive from drop boxes and the mail, election workers verify signatures, open ballot envelopes and prepare ballots for tabulation. Staff members also review challenged ballots and organize election documentation that will eventually be presented for certification.

Election day itself was far from a typical day in the office. Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Pettingill said election staff had spent much of the day helping voters rather than counting ballots.

“We've barely had time to count ballots today,” she said, noting the office had received a steady stream of phone calls and visitors seeking replacement ballots, voter registration assistance and other election-related services.

Pettingill said many voters waited until the last minute to cast their ballots, creating a surge in activity at ballot drop boxes across the county.

“We've already had to go in and change a couple of boxes because they're overflowing on Election Day and the day before,” she said. “So, it's clear people are turning in their ballot right before the deadline.”

Because thousands of ballots remain to be processed after Election Day, results released Tuesday night are considered unofficial.

“We still have ballots we haven't had a chance to process,” Pettingill said.

Another key task in the weeks ahead is resolving challenged ballots. When election workers encounter a ballot with a missing signature or a signature that does not match voter records, the ballot is set aside and the voter is contacted. Voters can correct those issues by submitting the required forms or updated signature information.

“We will reach out to you via email, text, mail, phone call – any contact information we have to help resolve a challenged ballot,” Pettingill said. “If the signature is different than the one on file, we can rectify that over the phone with the voter’s driver’s license number or last four (digits) of their Social Security number. If they forgot to sign their ballot, we will send them a form they need to fill out or stop by the elections office to fix that issue.” 

Pettingill said one of the biggest misconceptions about elections is that all work ends once voting concludes.

“We're processing thousands of ballots, literally thousands,” she said. “We're going as fast as we can.”

Certification on Nov. 24 marks the conclusion of that process. According to Pettingill, certification means election officials have completed ballot processing, resolved outstanding issues and finalized the official results.

“It means everything has been counted,” she said. “Everything has been processed, and the final numbers are in.”

    The general election will be certified Nov. 24. All results prior are preliminary and subject to change as ballots are counted.