§ 10261 Mail Ballot Vote Counting

• •Counting of mail‑in ballots must begin as soon as the polls close on election day.
• •The count must go on for at least six hours each day while there are still mail ballots left to count.
• •All mail ballots that were received on time must be counted before the count stops.
• •The mail‑in results are added to the regular precinct vote totals.
• •If a special canvassing board is used, it is appointed according to the rules in Chapter 1 of Division 15.

On Election Day the polls close at 7 p.m. and the city elections official begins counting the mail‑in ballots that arrived earlier. They work from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., then come back the next day and count for another six hours, and keep doing this each day until the last on‑time mail ballot is counted.

The official started the count right after the polls closed, counted for at least six hours each day, and didn’t stop until all the mail ballots that were received on time were counted, then added those numbers to the total votes from the precincts.