Nov. 11, 2008 Election results posted32,000 provisional ballots undergo verification King County Elections' added 35,176 additional ballots to the vote totals at 2 p.m. today.
| Ballot Count Totals To Date |
| 253,895 |
Total poll ballots |
| 35,176 |
Absentee ballots counted and posted online at 2 p.m. |
| 594,126 |
Total absentee ballots counted |
King County Elections' director Sherril Huff estimates 56,000 ballots are on hand left to count. This figure includes 17,600 provisional ballots that have already been verified to date. Not included in this figure are nearly 15,000 provisional ballots cast by voters whose registrations are still being researched and verified. This lengthy process started last week and is expected to continue through Friday, Nov.14.
Verified provisional ballots will be added to the count starting the week of Nov.17 through Nov.24, after they have been meticulously researched and fully reconciled. Once verified by staff, the ballot must be opened and duplicated to the correct ballot style for the voter's assigned precinct before it can be added to the official count. A provisional ballot is usually cast by a voter whose name does not appear in the poll book, when a voter casts a ballot at a poll site other than their assigned polling place, or when someone does not provide proper identification at the polls. Provisional ballots are counted after election officials verify the voter is eligible to cast a ballot, a labor-intensive process which generally takes between seven to 10 business days to complete. The number of provisional ballots cast in this election is similar to the number of provisional ballots cast in the last presidential election. In the 2004 general election, 32,996 provisional ballots were cast, and ultimately 28,010 were verified and counted. Anyone who cast a provisional ballot can verify the status of their ballot online at www.kingcounty.gov/elections .
Election results schedule
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