It’s worth waiting for the exact election results

Election campaigns are over and votes have been cast, but counting them may take some time.

Our editorial page deadline passed before the polls closed anywhere except tiny Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where six voters, like many recent polls, were evenly split between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. So we don’t know who will become the 47th president, or even whether Tuesday night’s election results will lead to a clear outcome in this tumultuous election.

But we are used to waiting.

In 2016, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the race was not decided until early the next morning. Four years ago, the nation waited anxiously for four days before learning that Joe Biden had unseated Trump.

So be patient and give up any conspiracy theories. Judges have rejected Trump’s fraud claims in 2020, and election systems in the United States will become even more secure in 2024.

Still, with about 150 million votes to be counted and thousands of positions to be decided across the country, tallying the results takes time.

And that’s okay. Americans want careful and accurate counting, not instant results.

This is true in all voting cases.

The March 5 primary election saw several close races in Sonoma County, the results of which were not determined until final results were released on March 29.

In the general election, Sonoma County mailed out about 307,000 ballots with 124 different combinations of positions and measures. All ballots postmarked before Election Day and received within a week will be counted.

What happens after you vote? A minimum of two people will be present when collecting ballots at voting centers, ballot drop boxes and post offices. Your signature on the envelope is matched to the signature on your voter registration card. If they do not match, you are given a chance to resolve the conflict so that your vote does not go uncounted.

The actual counting takes place in a secure room and the counting machines are not connected to the Internet. They cannot be hacked.

Some states, including Pennsylvania, a key state in the presidential election, are waiting until polls close to begin processing ballots. As mail-in voting increases, it slows down vote counting but does not change the results. California counties process ballots as they arrive, so a significant number of voters can be counted immediately after polls close. But this is not the final result.

About 152,000 ballots were returned in Sonoma County, according to the latest election count. In Napa County, where about 85,000 ballots were sent, about 37,000 were returned before Election Day. Final turnout is likely to exceed 80%, meaning thousands more ballots will arrive in the coming days.

Election observers can watch as ballots are checked and counted. In Sonoma County you can even watch online. After the initial count, random sections are recounted to ensure accuracy. The Registrar of Voters has 30 days to certify the results. The Secretary of State then has eight days to certify the statewide vote count. Only then will the results be final.

No one likes delay, but accurate results are essential to health care democracy. It’s worth the wait.

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