Election results FAQ: How votes are counted and what comes next after Election Day

After polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day in Minnesota, what happens next?

MPR News has compiled answers to some frequently asked questions about how votes are counted, when we will know the results and how election officials ensure the process is fair and accurate.

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What happens after the polls close?

In Minnesota, polling places close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Procedures following the closing of polling places vary by city and county. Generally, election judges will close all equipment used, including ballot counters and ballot marking devices, and complete necessary paperwork. Judges will then bring critical materials to a drop-off site — usually an election office.

When and how are the results totaled?

While Minnesotans voting on Election Day will cast their vote on paper ballots, electronic equipment is used to count ballots.

All ballot tabulators used in Minnesota are optical scan, so they “read” the ballot and record a vote for each candidate that has their target — usually an oval — filled in on the ballot.

Absentee ballots may be inserted into ballot counters starting 18 days before Election Day. However, no totals are produced until polling places close at 8 p.m.

That night, county election officials enter unofficial election results on the secretary of state’s website, according to the secretary of state’s website.

How do we know the totals are accurate?

Minnesota election administrators use a number of procedures to ensure equipment will accurately record valid votes, according to the secretary of state’s website. Equipment is approved by the state, tested locally before elections and the results are audited after elections.

Additionally, according to Minnesota Statute 206.89, after all state general elections, Minnesota counties will perform a postelection review of election results returned by the ballot counters used in the state.

The review is a hand count of the ballots for each eligible election in selected precincts. This year, the reviewed elections will be U.S. President, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representatives. The results of the hand count will be compared with results from the voting system used in those precincts.

The dates and locations for each county’s post-election review can be viewed here.

The results will be available on the secretary of state’s website.

When are the results made official?

The results of an election are not official until they have been reviewed by a canvassing board.

A county canvassing board will certify the votes cast within a county for races that go beyond the county boundaries and election results for county offices and legislative districts that are entirely contained within the county.

The state canvassing board will certify results for federal offices, statewide offices and legislative districts that cross county lines. The board meets on the 16th day following a state general election.

Each municipality and school district has its own canvassing board to certify results in those races

After results are certified by their canvassing board, they are considered “official” but races may be called before becoming official.

What does it mean when the AP has ‘called an election’?

According to the Associated Press’ website, election results are called by the AP when they are “fully confident a race has been won.” This is defined as the moment the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory.

While many races are called on election night, it’s not uncommon for it to take a few days — and in rare instances, a few weeks — to reach that point, according to the Associated Press’ website.

What are electoral votes and how are they different from the popular vote?

Electoral votes are votes cast by a group of electors from each state. There are a total of 538 electors. Each state is assigned a number of electoral votes based on population size. Minnesota has 10 electoral votes.

Here is a list of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) electors.

Here is a list of the Republican Party of Minnesota electors

The popular vote is the sum of all individual votes for a certain candidate. If a candidate wins the popular vote in Minnesota, they will receive all 10 electoral votes.

To win the presidential election, a candidate must obtain at least 270 electoral votes.

The national popular vote — the sum of all votes for each candidate across the U.S. — does not determine the winner of the election.

What is a recount?

According to the secretary of state’s website, a recount is a process to precisely determine the vote count between two candidates whose vote margin is extremely close. A recount can also occur for ballot questions. Recounts can be publicly funded or discretionary.

In what cases could there be a recount?

A publicly funded recount may occur if:

The difference in the number of votes cast for the apparent winning candidate and any other candidate is less than 0.25 percent for a federal office, state constitutional office or judicial offices.

The difference in the number of votes cast for the apparent winning candidate and any other candidate is less than 0.5 percent for a state legislative office.

The difference in votes cast is 10 votes or less and the total number of votes cast for the office is 400 or fewer.

The apparent losing candidate requests one by filing a notice with the appropriate filing officer within 48 hours after the canvassing board meeting.

A discretionary recount may occur upon a candidate’s request and at their expense if the difference in the number of votes cast for the apparent winning candidate and any other candidate is greater than the threshold for a publicly funded recount.

Ballot question recounts must be requested through a petition process. Information about the petition process can be found on the secretary of state’s website.

What is the process for a recount?

During a recount, election officials individually review each ballot that was cast on Election Day.

Ballots are separated into piles — one for each candidate involved in the recount, and one for all other ballots, including those cast for other candidates, those for which the voter’s intent cannot be determined and/or those declared ineligible due to markings or other problems.

All ballots within a precinct are sorted at the same time and are examined by an election official to determine the voter’s intent in accordance with Minnesota State Statutes 204C.22.

Once ballots have been sorted into these piles, they are counted by election officials in stacks of 25 and the precinct’s vote count for each candidate is announced.

Candidates, their representatives and the public may view the recount process, but they may not touch the ballots.