Katie Porter with Beyond the Whiteboard: It’s not Election Day; it’s Election Season

 

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

It’s not Election Day; it’s Election Season

How come it can take so long for a winner to be declared?

Katie Porter Nov 5

Happy Election Day! Today’s the last day to vote, so remember to cast your ballot and remind your friends and family to make their voices heard. Visit iwillvote.com to see how and where to vote in your jurisdiction.

While we wait for polls to close, I want to take some time now before the madness to share information about what happens next.

When polls close, we still start seeing partial returns. That’s because election officials are releasing results as the counting of ballots is ongoing. In some states, the first batch of results also includes early ballots that election officials have counted ahead of time but have waited to release. Most election results sites will indicate what percentage of votes have been counted.

As results start coming in, journalists will start calling races. That means that based on the available partial returns, it is mathematically guaranteed that one candidate will win once all the ballots are counted. The more competitive a race is, the later we will have to wait for it to be called, which could mean a few days or even a few weeks. For example, in 2018, it took 9 days for me to be declared the winner in California’s 45th Congressional District.

Often in these close races, campaigns will facilitate ballot curing, depending on what state law permits. This is when voters fix errors that caused their ballot to be rejected, such as a signature that doesn’t match what elections officials have on file. And, they are great low-pressure opportunities to volunteer with a campaign to make sure every vote is counted!

If there is an especially narrow margin, we might also find ourselves in a recount situation. Some states automatically require recounts if the margin is under a certain threshold, while other states rely on one of the campaigns to request one. During a recount, both campaigns will send people to the local elections office to monitor the process and make sure it’s done correctly.

With all of these processes, that’s why I always say that we don’t have Election Day; we have Election Season. We can’t panic if a winner isn’t declared immediately—we keep doing our parts in democracy.

Buckle up! I’ll see you on the other side.

Katie Porter

Thanks for reading Beyond the Whiteboard! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.