{"id":4402,"date":"2020-10-26T11:40:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T11:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4402"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:37","slug":"the-count-behind-the-scenes-in-durhams-vote-tally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/10\/26\/the-count-behind-the-scenes-in-durhams-vote-tally\/","title":{"rendered":"The count: behind the scenes in Durham’s vote tally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story by Michaela Towfighi; illustrations by Sofia Zymnis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uncertainty has been a common thread in our lives since March. But if there is one thing certain about holding an election in these strange and confusing times, it is that there are over 7 million registered voters in North Carolina and the state has a plan to count their ballots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless whether votes are cast by mail, at early voting sites or at the polls on Nov. 3, counting ballots is no simple feat. It is a complex process with many steps of verification.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first three pieces fit together to make up the unofficial count of ballots in Durham County. This tally can not be released until 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, but, as ballots trickle in, the machines know the count well ahead of the deadlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An occasional series on the 2020 election in North Carolina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Still, it\u2019s all somewhat tentative until Nov. 24. That\u2019s when the North Carolina State Board of Elections convenes to finish their audit and verify ballots \u2013 a multiday process known as canvassing which starts the day after the election \u2013 before releasing the final tally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mail-In Voting<\/b> — The count is underway (but no one knows who\u2019s ahead)<\/span><\/h2>\n

To handle the thousands of absentee votes received ahead of Nov. 3, the Durham County Board of Elections has met since Sept. 29 to review the ballots. All <\/span><\/i>meeting dates and times<\/span><\/i><\/a> are pre-approved and published on the county board website. Once mail-in ballots are approved, they are fed into an electronic tabulator machine, where the votes are counted but the results are not released. Simply put, the machine knows the vote count but officials do not until polls close on Nov. 3.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

At each meeting, the board has two tasks: approve ballots and begin the count. Once the ballot is approved, meaning it has all components filled out including the required witness signature, then the board can remove it from its envelope and place it in the tabulation machine. The machine counts the vote, and stores the result on a memory card in the machine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once polls close on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., the board can remove the memory cards from the tabulators and print the results. Then these results can be released to the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mail-In Ballot Deadlines:\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Oct. 27 – Voters must request a mail-in ballot by 5 p.m..\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oct. 15 to Oct. 31 – Voters can drop off their mail-in ballots at any early voting site in Durham County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nov. 3 – The last day voters can drop off their mail-in ballots at the Durham County Board of Elections office by 5 p.m.. Voters who are returning their ballots by mail must have them postmarked by Nov. 3. As long as ballots are sent by then, they can be accepted through Nov. 12 (although the date is still subject to change as a result of ongoing litigation).\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Early Voting <\/b>— The count begins for in-person voting\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t have to wait until Nov. 3 to catch glimpses of Durham voters sporting their \u201cNo bull, I voted\u201d stickers. Since Oct. 15, people have been able to visit <\/span><\/i>14 early voting locations<\/span><\/i><\/a> in the county. They\u2019ll be open until Oct. 31.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Like mail-in voting, this is a form of absentee voting and the ballots are processed as they come in. These ballots are also put through an electronic ballot scanner, with results stored in the tabulator\u2019s memory card. At the end of each day, the physical ballots are organized by a color coded bagging system. As with mail-in ballots, only the machines know the vote count.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Keeping tabs: When the polls close at the end of each early voting day, the ballots are tallied on-site by the tabulation machine and then a one-stop daily reconciliation form must be filled out. This reconciliation form is essentially a daily audit that makes sure every ballot is accounted for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The reconciliation form includes:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n