Step 1: Bipartisan delivery
Bipartisan teams of precinct election officials return to the board office with all the paper ballots, encrypted USB flash drives and memory cards containing the votes cast at the polls.
Step 2: Counting begins
Boards tabulate results from absentee ballots, early voting and Election Day voting. Provisional ballots are not counted until voter eligibility is verified.
Results are uploaded to the Ohio secretary of state’s website using secure systems and posted online by counties and the state. The number of outstanding, uncounted absentee and provisional ballots will be noted.
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Step 3: Provisional ballots verified
After the election, board staff verify eligibility of voters who cast provisional ballots and count absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 that arrive by Nov. 13.
Bipartisan, four-person county election boards vote on provisional ballots and remaking absentee ballots that would not scan because of unclear markings, damage or other issues.
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Step 4: Certification deadline
The deadline to certify results is Nov. 18. Those final, official results will be announced by the Ohio Secretary of State.
Automatic recounts begin for very close races and ties. Recounts can also be requested and paid for by a candidate.
Step 5: Audit verification
A mandatory post-election audit verifies results for a certain percentage of the vote in pre-selected races.
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Credit: Lynn Hulsey
Step 6: Dispute deadline
If the recount or audit results in a vote change, the certified results are amended and reported to the secretary of state.
The deadline for resolving election disputes, including all state recounts and court challenges, is Dec. 8.
Step 7: Electoral College meets
The Electoral College meets and votes for president and vice president on Dec. 14. Those votes are counted by the U.S. Congress on Jan. 6.
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