Countywide Services Agency

Voter Registration and ElectionsJill LaVine, Registrar of Voters

County of Sacramento

Steven C. Szalay, Interim County Executive

Bruce Wagstaff, Agency Administrator

September 29, 2010

TO: ALL CANDIDATES – November 2, 2010 Consolidated General Election

FROM: Brad R. Buyse, Campaign Services Manager

Candidates are frequently surprised to learn that there are tens of thousands of ballots countywide remaining to be counted after election day. These uncounted ballots may leave some close races undecided for days or even weeks. This memo is provided as a courtesy to explain the logistics of election night ballot counting, and follow-up ballot tabulation, which occurs in the days following the election.

California Elections Code 15372 permits 28 days to complete the final, official canvass and certify the results of the election. This law recognizes the complexity of completing the ballot count and conducting a thorough audit of the election results to ensure accuracy. Part of the canvass process is a legally required manual tally (California Elections Code 15360) of the votes cast for all candidates and measures on the ballots in 1% of the total voting precincts. This manual process verifies the accuracy of the computer count.

This November, the State Senate District 1 (SD1) Primary Special Election was consolidated with the General Election by Governor Schwarzenegger. The canvass for this contest must be completed within 10 calendar days of the election due to the time frame in case there is a runoff. The General Election is tentatively scheduled for January 4, 2011. This means that after election night, our office will focus on counting SD1 precincts to meet this short deadline. When the ballot counting for SD1 is completed, the canvass for the rest of the election will continue.

Below are the categories of ballots which cannot be processed on Election Night:

♦ Vote-by-Mail (VBM) ballots turned in at polling locations and/or received in the mail Election Day♦ Provisional ballots voted at the polls♦ Ballots with write-in votes♦ Damaged ballots that must be duplicated

VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS TURNED IN AT POLLING LOCATIONS OR RECEIVED IN THE MAIL

Many VBM voters wait until the last minute to make their voting choices and then drop off their VBM ballots at a polling place on Election Day. These ballots are received via the polls very late on election night. We also receive a huge number of VBM ballots in the mail on Election Day. All sealed VBM envelopes are signature-verified before the ballots can be removed and counted.

PROVISIONAL BALLOTSWe proudly conduct elections with accuracy, integrity and dignity

7000 65th Street, Suite A • Sacramento, California 95823-2315 • phone (916) 875-6451 • fax Campaign Services (916) 875-6228 toll-free (800) 762-8019 • Speech and Hearing Impaired • (TTY) 1-800-735-2929 •

www.saccounty.net

A voter whose registration is in question or who was already sent a Vote-by-Mail ballot or who is at the wrong polling location will be directed by the precinct officer to vote a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are sealed in special envelopes at the polls and must be individually researched and verified at the Registrar’s Office before ballots are counted or rejected or duplicated in accordance with election laws.

WRITE-IN BALLOTS

Each ballot containing a write-in vote must be individually reviewed to determine whether the write-in vote is for a qualified write-in candidate. Vote tallies for write-in candidates are not available until the conclusion of the official canvass.

DAMAGED BALLOTS

Occasionally ballots are returned damaged or torn and are unable to be read by our ballot reader. These ballots must be duplicated prior to counting.

SUMMARY

Supplemental ballot counting of Vote-by-Mail, provisional, and write-in ballots will occur in the days following the election. Based on past trends, the number of ballots remaining to be counted after election night will be substantial for this election. These ballots are not segregated by district or precinct prior to counting. Therefore, the number of outstanding ballots for any specific electoral district cannot be determined. Staff will be working extended hours to complete the ballot counting as quickly as possible.

I hope that the reasons for the length of time needed to prepare the final vote count have been explained fully in this memo. The Canvass of the Vote is open to the public. If you are interested in viewing this process, please contact me directly at (916) 875-6276.

Sincerely yours,

Brad R. BuyseCampaign Services Manager

We proudly conduct elections with accuracy, integrity and dignity

7000 65th Street, Suite A • Sacramento, California 95823-2315 • phone (916) 875-6451 • fax Campaign Services (916) 875-6228 toll-free (800) 762-8019 • Speech and Hearing Impaired • (TTY) 1-800-735-2929 •

www.saccounty.net