Special General Election Results – When to Expect Them
Counting ballots takes time, even for a special election like the First Supervisorial District, Special General Election. So, what can you expect on election night?
The first set of unofficial election night results will come in shortly after 8 p.m. This update will include mail ballots received before Election Day and vote center ballots from early voting between June 21 – June 30.
To follow the latest results update on election night, you can visit sdvote.com or follow the Registrar’s office on X (formerly Twitter).
After the first unofficial report, election night updates will only include vote center ballots cast on Election Day.
The Election Day ballots come in after the vote centers close at 8 p.m. There will be a gap in time for the next set of results due to poll workers packing up supplies and driving in from the vote centers.
After arriving at the Registrar’s office, the vote center ballots will be scanned and results will be periodically updated until all the vote center ballots have been counted.
The final unofficial election night results may not come in until 10 p.m. or later and will only cover the ballots that could be counted immediately.
The counting of ballots does not end on election night.
What’s left to count?
- Mail ballots
- These are the ballots dropped off at vote centers, official ballot drop boxes or picked up from the U.S. Postal Service on Election Day.
- Ballots mailed right before or on July 1 have seven days to arrive if postmarked on or before Election Day.
- Provisional ballots
- People who missed the June 16 registration deadline may conditionally register and vote provisionally up to and on Election Day.
- Once their voter registration is processed, the voter registration becomes active and the provisional ballot is counted.
- The Registrar’s office cannot predict how many residents who are not registered, but otherwise eligible, will take advantage of this.
After election night, the next release of unofficial results is scheduled to be posted by 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 3. Additional updates are at the discretion of the Registrar of Voters.
Election results must be certified by July 31. For this special election, the Registrar expects certification to occur on an earlier date, while making sure every legally cast vote is added to the count in the most expeditious, yet careful manner available, ensuring accurate results. All updates will be posted on sdvote.com with the final certified results posted by July 31.
Learn more about voting in the District 1 special general election at sdvote.com, or call (858) 565-5800 or toll free at (800) 696-0136.