Essex County Finishes Election Day Machine Count After Ballot Issues

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County is getting closer to certifying its 2021 general election results, an official says.

Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin confirmed Friday that all Election Day voting machine votes have been counted, and that 550 out of 550 districts have reported their results.

The update comes after ballots from dozens of voting districts in Essex County weren't counted Tuesday night, reportedly because of a “poll worker error.” Read More: Ballots Left Uncounted In Essex County On Election Day, Report Says

What remains to be done before the results can be certified? According to Durkin:

“The bulk of the vote by mail ballots have been counted with a minimal amount of vote by mail ballots that may come in through the postal service as long as those ballots are postmarked Election Day or prior. The deadline for vote by mail ballots to come in through the postal service is Monday, Nov. 8 as long as those ballots are postmarked Election Day or prior. There are 3,698 provisional ballots that still need to be verified. Voters can still ‘cure’ their vote by mail ballot if it was denied based on signature comparison or lack of signature up until Nov. 15.”

Election results will be certified on November 18, Durkin told Patch. So no, the election isn’t officially over in Essex County – yet.

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