On election night, we all want to know the results right away, but counting ballots takes time. Here are some reasons why:
- Over 1.9 million registered voters.
- Every active registered voter received a ballot in the mail.
- Mail ballots can be counted if postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to 7 days after.
- Vote centers opened for up to 11 days, May 28 – June 7.
So, what can you expect on election night?
The first set of unofficial election night results comes in shortly after 8 p.m. This will include mail ballots received before Election Day and vote center ballots from early voting between May 28 – June 6. They will also include votes for qualified write-in candidates.
For the latest results update on election night, you can visit sdvote.com or follow the Registrar’s office on Twitter.
After the first unofficial report, election night updates will include vote center ballots cast on Election Day only. There will be no more updates to mail ballots and write-in candidates on election night.
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 county’s 218 vote centers.
Upon arrival, the vote center ballots are scanned and results will be periodically updated until all of the vote center ballots have been counted. Since there are fewer vote center locations compared to the traditional polling place model, the Registrar’s office expects to provide less frequent result updates.
The final unofficial election night results may not come in until 1 a.m. or later and will only cover the ballots that could be counted immediately. The counting of ballots does not end election night.
What’s left to count?
Mail ballots. The Registrar’s office mailed over 1.9 million ballots for this election and a portion of those were dropped off at vote centers or picked up by the U.S. Postal Service on Election Day. Mail ballots sent right before or on June 7 have seven days to arrive if postmarked by Election Day.
Then there are provisional ballots. People who missed the May 23 registration deadline may conditionally register and vote provisionally up to and on Election Day. It is unknown how many people will choose to do that.
Once the voter registration is processed and the Registrar’s offices confirms the voter did not vote elsewhere in the state, the voter registration becomes active, and the provisional ballot is counted.
After election night, the next release of unofficial results will be posted by 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 9. Additional updates will occur at the discretion of the Registrar of Voters.
However, the results must be certified on July 7, and the Registrar expects to use the full certification period to make sure the results are accurate. All updates will be posted on sdvote.com with the final certified results posted by July 7.
For more information, visit sdvote.com or call (858) 565-5800.
