With Election Day over, post-election processes begin

No election ends on Election Day. This is by design – by state and federal law – to ensure that election results are accurate.

This has always been the case. In the days following each election in North Carolina, the 100 county boards of elections count provisional ballots and certain absentee ballots cast in the election, conduct post-election audits, and complete any necessary recounts. The State Board of Elections conducts additional audits to ensure an accurate count.

These processes culminate in the final certification of results. County boards of elections will hold their canvass meeting at 11 a.m. Friday, November 15. The State Board will meet on Tuesday, November 26, to certify the election.

According to preliminary and unofficial election night results, nearly 5.7 million North Carolinians cast ballots in this election, a 73% turnout of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters. That number will increase as provisional and absentee ballots are counted during the 10-day canvass period.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to our county boards of elections, our county election staffs, and the thousands of poll workers who made the 2024 general election a success in a highly charged political environment,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “Our work is not done. State and county elections officials take many steps after every election to ensure all eligible votes are counted and the results are checked, double-checked, and accurate. That process started today.”

What happens next?

Please see below for details on post-election processes:

Counting remaining absentee ballots

County boards of elections still must count absentee ballots received by election officials on Election Day, plus absentee ballots that were mailed by Election Day by military and U.S. citizens abroad and arrive at county board of elections offices through 5 p.m. Nov. 14.

For 2024 only, certain absentee ballots dropped off by voters from the 25 counties affected by Hurricane Helene at election offices or early voting sites outside of voters’ home counties will be counted in the coming days, as permitted by N.C. Session Law 2024-51.

All county boards of elections will conduct meetings between now and next Friday to consider these absentee ballots and add ballots that meet all statutory requirements to the results. The specific days such meetings take place will vary by county. County boards will notice these meetings, which are open to the public.

Counting provisional ballots

County boards also must research all provisional ballots – likely to be in the tens of thousands statewide – to determine voter eligibility and count the ballots of eligible voters.

These include ballots cast by voters who were unable to show an acceptable photo ID at the polls and either completed a Photo ID Exception Form or returned after voting to show their ID to their county board of elections. Because this is the first general election under the photo ID law, and the photo ID law adds this new category of provisional ballots, the State Board anticipates the number of provisional ballots to be greater than in years past.

Provisional ballots also include ballots cast by voters who vote in the wrong precinct or who otherwise do not appear in the official pollbook maintained by the voting site where they voted.

County boards of elections will add any eligible ballots from these categories to the results during the post-election canvass period. Exactly when additional ballots will be added to the unofficial results will vary by county, depending on when they schedule their public meetings to consider these ballots.

Conducting a hand count audit

Under state law, every county must conduct a hand count of ballots in two randomly selected precincts, early voting sites, or absentee ballots to confirm results tabulated by machine. Bipartisan teams of counters conduct the hand counts during public meetings.

On Wednesday, the State Board randomly selected these voting groups to determine which ballots will be hand counted in every county. As a result of the random selection, ballots from 28 early voting sites and 156 Election Day precincts will be counted by hand across the state. Sixteen counties will count their absentee-by-mail ballots as part of the audit.

These audits must be conducted in public. Results of the hand count are compared to the results as tabulated by voting machines to ensure accuracy, and any discrepancies, which are typically very few, are accounted for.

County canvass

County boards of elections will certify their results at public meetings held at 11 a.m. Friday, November 15. The county board reviews election records for accuracy and certifies contests and referenda within the county boundaries. The county boards will also consider any eligible challenges to ballots during the canvass.

Recounts

Any mandatory recounts would be conducted by county boards of elections after the county canvass, which is November 15, and before the state canvass which is November 26. For statewide contests, the vote difference must be 10,000 votes or fewer for a second-place candidate to demand a recount. For non-statewide contests, the difference between the candidates must be 1 percent or less of the total votes cast in the contest after county canvass. In contests under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections, the recount demand must be in writing and received by the State Board of Elections no later than noon on Tuesday, November 19. If a recount is demanded, the State Board of Elections office would issue a schedule, and the counties would conduct recounts individually during open meetings.

For contests under jurisdiction of county boards of elections, a demand for recount must be made in writing to the county board of elections by 5 p.m. Monday, November 18.

N.C.G.S. § 163-182.7 (Ordering recounts).

See general guidelines for recounts: 08 NCAC 09 .0106.

And see rules for initial recounts: 08 NCAC 09 .0107, and secondary recounts: 08 NCAC 09 .0110.

State canvass. The State Board of Elections will certify statewide results for all federal, statewide, multi-county district, judicial, and district attorney contests at a public meeting held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 26. Results in each contest are not considered official until certified by the State Board. As part of the state canvass, the State Board will issue a post-election audit report. After the canvass, the board of elections with jurisdiction over each contest will issue a certificate of election to the prevailing candidate.