Casting your ballot is only the beginning of a multi-step process to determine and finalize the results of an election. During the canvassing process — which typically refers to the counting of ballots but may also include the certification of results — all ballots are tallied and accounted for. From there, trusted election officials are tasked with the mandatory duty of certifying our elections.
But what exactly does certifying an election look like?
Election certification is a ministerial task that confirms the election process has concluded. At that stage, every vote has been counted and the results of the various races on the ballot have been determined.
Simply put, certifying election results serves as an important “period” at the end of the postelection process “sentence.” Certification includes a series of deadlines at the local and state level that must be met before the results are officially finalized (listen to CLC's Democracy Decoded episode about certification here).
Step 1: Before certification, votes are counted.
First, votes must be initially counted and canvassed. While laws vary from state to state, the nuts and bolts of how ballots are counted are quite similar. In the days and weeks preceding Election Day, many states are allowed to begin processing mail ballots that have been returned by voters for counting.
Mail ballots, unlike ballots cast in person, typically require additional steps to process. Election workers have to verify the signature on the ballot envelope, for example.
These workers are everyday Americans who come from both parties and are members of their community — they might even be a friend or neighbor.
Once polls close on election night, election workers at each precinct total up the number of ballots cast at their specific polling location.
This total includes ballots cast in a variety of different ways, including mailed ballots, paper ballots filled out in person, or votes cast using an accessible and secure voting machine.
Election workers then report the totals and deliver the ballots to their jurisdiction’s central election office. This could be done by a clerk, recorder, registrar, or board of elections.
At the election office, teams of election officials collect ballots from in-person voting locations and those cast by mail, drop box, or during the early voting period. Then, those ballots are read — typically by a secure scanner — to determine the vote totals for each race.
During the hours and days following the close of polls, election officials are regularly publishing “unofficial results” to their website to keep the public informed.
Prior to local certification, election officials verify mail-in ballots submitted from both inside the U.S. and from Americans overseas. During this step, officials may let voters know if their ballot needs to be “cured,” which allows voters to add missing information or correct a signature that does not match the one on file.
This important work is done prior to certification and helps ensure every American is able to make their voice heard. During the cure process, voters are individually notified to resolve issues with their ballot. If the voter does so, their vote is counted in the final total.
During this period, local election officials may also conduct audits at the county or local level to ensure that the machines used to tabulate ballots have been functioning properly.
Step 2: Next, votes are certified at the local level.
A local canvass or certification board (either an election official or a multi-person board) certifies results for a given county or election jurisdiction in the days following an election.
This step serves as yet another safety mechanism in the election system where officials confirm all ballots are valid before results are sent to the state. This step typically includes the local board reviewing vote totals before confirming the results.
Step 3: Then, results are certified at the state level.
When local jurisdictions have certified their results, they are then sent to statewide officials. This step is a “checkmark” or “period” at the end of the election process to further instill confidence that election results are true and accounted for.
Importantly, certification is not optional. Certification is a mandatory and purely ministerial process carried out by officials. Statewide certification is typically done by the secretary of state or governor.
Is the process different for presidential elections?
Presidential elections have additional requirements for certification, as results must be finalized in time for the statewide meeting of presidential electors. In 2022, Congress passed the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA), which made changes to the deadlines by which a state must certify their slate of electors.
In presidential elections, each state sends “electors” to represent the state in the Electoral College. The ECRA specifies that the person responsible for certifying the state’s appointment of electors is the state’s governor, unless state law designates a different state executive to perform the duty.
The designated person must certify the state’s electors by December 11, six days before they meet to take part in the Electoral College and cast their state’s electoral votes for president and vice president.
How else do states verify results?
Certification is different from other postelection processes focused on the accuracy of results like recounts, audits and contests.
Ballot recounts, which can be triggered automatically due to an election's slim margin or at the request of a candidate, may serve as an additional step to verify a close election’s results. Each state has different rules for whether a recount happens before or after certification.
Many states also conduct a postelection audit to verify the accuracy of voting equipment used in the election, and many even do preelection logic and accuracy testing to confirm equipment is working properly before voting begins.
Regardless of which additional steps occur, certification serves as the last step at the end of the long election process. Long after voters have gone home, with ballots completed and stickers on lapels, certification gives voters the assurance that election results have been checked, confirmed and reflect the will of the people.
This blog was written with assistance from CLC intern Margaret (Maggie) Schaller and Madeleine Greenberg.