What happens after polls close in Georgia on Election Day?

Information in this explainer was obtained from the Secretary of State’s Office and the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

Nov. 5

Election superintendents begin the counting and canvassing of votes after polls close. By 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, votes cast by early voting, as well as absentee ballots verified and accepted by the Monday before Election Day, will be tabulated, per S.B. 189.

Canvassing is the consolidation of election data and the process by which election officials ensure the accuracy of results prior to certification.

By 11:59 p.m., local election superintendents must report to the Secretary of State and post publicly the total number of ballots cast both on Election Day and during early voting, including absentee ballots.

If there were more ballots issued than ballots returned and counted, election superintendents will report the reasons for those differences to the Secretary of State’s Office. These discrepancies can occur, for example, when a voter accidentally rips or damages their ballot before casting it and requests a new one, or when a voter cancels an absentee ballot and votes in-person instead. The extra ballots are noted by election officials and are not counted. This is known as the ballot reconciliation process.

For more information on the canvass and how election officials confirm the accuracy of election data, visit this resource and this page by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Nov. 8

Many things need to happen by the third business day after Election Day.

Election offices can accept and count absentee ballots received by Nov. 8, provided that the ballots are postmarked by Nov. 5. 

Nov. 8 is also the last day voters can cure, or fix, absentee ballots if the voter did not sign the elector’s oath or provided information on the ballot that does not match the voter’s registration record. The registrar or clerk of the election office will first notify the voter that their ballot has been rejected and why, and the voter will need to submit an affidavit and an approved form of identification to affirm that they did submit that ballot and they are registered to vote. The absentee ballot will be counted if the board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk believes the affidavit and ID meet the requirements.

Registrars also need to determine whether or not provisional ballots are valid by Nov. 8. Voters who believed they were registered to vote, but their name is not on the voter list at a polling place, could be offered a provisional ballot to cast. (Conditions for when and how someone may cast a provisional ballot are detailed in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-418(a)-(c).) Registrars then need to report the number of provisional ballots counted.

Nov. 12

Election superintendents of counties or municipalities must certify election results by this date at 5 p.m. Certification refers to the official statement issued by the election official attesting to the accuracy of vote counting and election results.

The Georgia State Election Board previously passed several rules that seemed to allow local election boards to delay or refuse certifying election results, but the Fulton County Superior Court ruled that these rules are unconstitutional, illegal and void, and the Georgia Supreme Court declined a petition to reinstate those rules for this election. This means that those rules do not apply to this election. Next year, the higher courts will likely consider whether to strike down the State Election Board rules permanently.

Nov. 14

This marks the deadline for requesting a recount for the general election. Election superintendents can petition for a recount when there “appears” to be a discrepancy or error, “although not apparent on the face” of the votes counted (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-495(a)-(b)). The recount can happen on particular voting machines or in a particular precinct that uses paper ballots. Candidates themselves can also petition the secretary of state for a recount.

From Nov. 14-15, local election superintendents will also conduct “risk-limiting audits,” defined as “an audit protocol that makes use of statistical methods and is designed to limit to acceptable levels the risk of certifying a preliminary election outcome that constitutes an incorrect outcome” (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-498(a)(3)). Superintendents will conduct such audits by inspecting a random sample of paper ballots from a contest randomly selected by the Secretary of State’s Office. Superintendents will publicize the details of the audit within 48 hours of completing it.

Nov. 22

This is the last day for the secretary of state to certify votes in Georgia.

And that’s a wrap — until any potential December runoff elections. But presidential elections don’t go to runoffs, so we’ll know who won Georgia in the hours, days or weeks after the polls close on Nov. 5.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly explained one aspect of counting early votes and absentee ballots. In fact, votes cast by early voting, as well as absentee ballots accepted and verified by the Monday before Election Day, are all tabulated by 8 p.m. on Election Day.