It’s Not Over on Election Day!

Preparing a traditional holiday meal can take weeks of planning and hours of preparation, but the work isn’t over after dessert is served!  Much like the preparation of a holiday meal, so are elections, and it’s not really over until the cleanup is complete. 

On election days at 7:00 p.m. the polls close, but the duties of the elections’ staff are far from over.  Beginning election night, staff begins sorting through polling place supplies and paperwork returned to the collection sites by pollworkers, and the process of reconciliation by precinct begins, which is comparing the number of persons who voted with the number of ballots issued and ballots tabulated.

The following day, crews in box trucks begin picking up the voting equipment from 109 polling places countywide, a process which takes three days.  Staff awaits each truckload to unload and unpack every bag, tote, sign and container that was sent to the precincts, while some staff works on reconciliation paperwork and others research and make case files for every provisional ballot that was cast.  Information Technology staff examine the data from the voting machines and EViDs (electronic poll books), and updates voter history.  All of this preparation is done before the canvassing board meets on the Friday following the election to do the first statutorily required unofficial election certification to the state.

Another of the statutorily required duties is to perform a post-election audit of the voting system which may be either a manual or automated tally of the votes cast, including election day, absentee, early voting, provisional, and overseas ballots.  

Provisional Ballot Disposition Letters are prepared for voters which notify them of the outcome of their provisionally cast ballot.  Letters are also prepared to the vote-by-mail voters whose ballots were rejected by the canvassing board due to a lack of signature on their certificate, or a noticeable difference between the signature that appears on the certificate and that which is on file with the voter’s record. 

Once all of these details, checks and balances are taken care of and the overseas ballots are counted, the canvassing board is able to certify the official results of the election to the Florida Department of State. At the same time, a statutorily required Conduct of Election report is prepared and filed which chronicles things such as poll workers, election tabulators, polling places and any election day issues or incidences (if any occurred) as they relate to election administration. 

All of this is accomplished within seven days post election of a primary, or 12 days following a general election, and then the process of preparing for the next one begins.  The myriad of duties outlined above are just a few of the many required post election duties my staff and I undertake after each election.  It’s a time consuming and deliberative process that takes many hours and many staff, but it’s too important of an endeavor to rush and certainly time well spent!   As you know, Pasco County is known for excellence with elections administration and it’s this attention to detail after Election Day that continues raising the bar ever so higher.