Yes, some states count votes before Election Day

Ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, VERIFY is answering voters’ top questions about the election process.

Chrystal reached out to us via our website to ask about ballot-counting rules. She wanted to know if any states count votes before Election Day.

THE QUESTION

Do some states count votes before Election Day?

THE SOURCES

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
• Various state laws
• The Brennan Center for Justice

THE ANSWER

Yes, some states count votes before Election Day.

WHAT WE FOUND

Most U.S. states do not allow votes to be counted until Election Day. However, there are a dozen states that allow the process to start earlier. 

The U.S. Constitution gives states the right to run their own elections, which includes setting rules for how votes are counted. 

Though the definition of “counting” votes varies by state, it generally refers to the “act of tallying votes on processed ballots for a result,” the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) explains. 

According to the NCSL, 37 states, including Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, do not allow vote counting to begin until Election Day. In 14 of those states, counting isn’t allowed to begin until the polls close.

But twelve states do allow vote counting to begin before Election Day, according to the NCSL. Those states are Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia and Utah.

Connecticut leaves vote count timing up to the discretion of the local registrar of voters, the NCSL says. 

The rules for counting votes before Election Day vary based on state laws. We looked at the laws in two key swing states.

For example, under Arizona law, vote tallying in the state can begin immediately after votes are processed, but results cannot be released before all precincts have reported or until one hour after the polls close on Election Day – whichever comes first. 

Nevada law allows counties to begin counting mail ballots 15 days before Election Day. State law also specifies that results cannot be reported until the polls close.

Though the majority of U.S. states don’t allow votes to be counted until Election Day, many allow ballots to be processed earlier. 

If someone votes by mail, an election worker has to process their ballot before it can be counted, the Brennan Center for Justice explains. This procedure varies by state, but it usually involves verifying the voter’s information and eligibility on the envelope, opening the envelope and removing the ballot so it is ready to be tabulated by a voting machine.

According to the NCSL and Brennan Center for Justice, 43 states allow election workers to begin processing mail ballots before Election Day.

Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which are two key swing states, are among the seven remaining states that do not allow election officials to begin processing mail ballots until Election Day.

Since processing is a “time-intensive process” that “significantly slows down the pace at which election workers can count mail ballots,” as the Brennan Center explains, states that don’t allow pre-processing will likely take longer to count ballots than others.