New Voting System Questions

Central Counting FAQ

• Q: What does “central counting” mean?
  • This means all ballots, including vote-by-mail and polling place ballots, are counted in the Elections Department.
  • On election night, poll workers account for all ballots cast at their polling place and then deliver the ballots to the Elections Department to be counted.
  • The last results report on election night will include all polling place ballots.
• Q: Why didn’t the County purchase counting machines for polling places? Why won’t my ballot be counted at the polling place?
  • Since 77% of the registered voters vote by mail, we used available funding to purchase more tally machines for the Elections Department.
  • All polling place ballots will be counted in the Elections Department on election night.
• Q: What advantage does central counting offer besides keeping up with the trend in vote by mail?
  • Central counting will flag a ballot for further review if voter intent is not clear. Manual review will allow ballots to be properly processed as the voter intended.
• Q: How does central counting change the voting experience at the polls?
  • The voting process remains essentially the same: A voter will sign the roster, vote on a paper ballot and put the ballot into the same, locked ballot box as before. There will be no tally machines at the polls.
• Q: When will my polling place ballot be counted?
  • All polling place ballots will be counted on election night in the Elections Department.
• Q: How can you be sure all ballots from the polls are counted?
  • We count polling place ballots by precinct and will be able to compare the number of ballots cast to the number of signatures in the roster.