LAKEPORT, Calif. – Elections offices around the state have until the end of business on Tuesday to complete the final count for the Nov. 6 election, with the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office still busy finishing up its work as well.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen reported that after each statewide election, California county elections officials have 31 days to ensure all eligible ballots are accurately counted and then certify final election results to her office.
For the presidential and general election, held Nov. 6, the deadline for processing is Tuesday, with elections officials having until this Friday to report their certified vote counts to California Secretary of State.
Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said the work has to be completed by 5 p.m. Tuesday, by which time she guaranteed she and her staff would be finished.
In addition to counting the thousands of absentee – or vote-by-mail – ballots and those cast at precincts, Fridley and her staff have had a large number of provisional ballots to process this year.
Provisional ballots are used in a number of scenarios. Examples include when registered voters have moved to a new address within the county, absentee voters who have lost their ballots and new voters in federal elections who have not previously presented a photo identification, the latter being a case which isn’t common, Fridley said.
There also are court-ordered provisional ballots, such as when a person registers to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles but Fridley’s office didn’t receive the registration in time for the election. In that case, she said the elections office can petition the court on the voter’s behalf to have their ballot counted.
For Nov. 6 there were 1,111 provisional ballots, according to unofficial count numbers, Fridley said.
Just how many of this year’s provisional ballots will be counted will depend on several factors.
For example, in the case of an absentee voter who has misplaced their ballot, if the elections office has confirmed that vote-by-mail ballot hasn’t been returned, the provisional ballot is counted, Fridley said.
If a voter goes to the polls and is allowed to vote with a provisional ballot but is found to not be registered, the ballot isn’t counted, she said.
Fridley said that in November 2010 there were 764 provisional ballots issued and 699 counted, compared to 649 issued and 521 counted in November 2008 and 323 issued and 287 counted in November 2006.
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