San Mateo County to Begin Voting Audit Process

From the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division: At 8:30 a.m. on November 28, 2016, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin the One Percent Manual Tally of the votes cast in the November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election.

The One Percent Manual Tally is a legally required election canvassing procedure that takes place after the polls have closed on Election Day. The Official Canvass of the Vote must be completed within 30 days following an election. The One Percent Manual Tally ensures the accuracy of the vote before the official results are certified.

“The manual tally is one of the final steps in the accountability of an election. Its purpose is to verify the accuracy of the automated count and to provide confirmation that the conduct of the election was proper,” explained San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Mark Church. “Most importantly, the manual tally reinforces voter confidence,” Church added.

Official election results will not be certified until the canvass is completed. The votes of each of the ballot contests are upheld by the validations from the One Percent Manual Tally.

The procedure begins with the selection of precincts for manual tally. Selection is determined through a random process that involves throwing three ten-sided dice and matching the resulting three numbers to a corresponding precinct number.

The One Percent Manual Tally, including the rolling of the dice, is a completely transparent process that the public is invited to observe. Past observers have rolled the dice to help select the precincts. Election officials will work in teams of four, called a “precinct board,” to manually read, call out, record, and tally votes.

This process will take approximately five days to complete. The Chief Elections Officer will then certify and publish the official results no later than December 8, 2016. The official certified results, known as the Statement of the Vote, will be published on www.shapethefuture.org.

The One Percent Manual Tally will be held at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. Please call 650.312.5222 if you wish to observe the manual tally or be a part of the process in selecting precincts, or follow @smcvote on Twitter for updates.

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