In mid-October, registered voters across California began to receive their vote-by-mail ballots for the November 8 General Election. Those ballots could be returned to the county elections offices starting the week of October 10.
Local election workers began processing those vote-by-mail ballots the week of October 24th.
After the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, results from vote-by-mail ballots returned prior to Election Day will be released to the public.
Then, as ballots cast at polling places arrive at the elections office on election night, those ballots are counted and results are released throughout the evening. According to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder, updates should be expected every two hours until all of the ballots cast at the polling places are counted.
There are 59 polling locations in San Luis Obispo County and 85 in Santa Barbara County.
If you dropped your ballot in a dropbox on Election Day, those votes will be counted in the days following the election.
If you mailed your ballot on Election Day, those ballots will be processed as they arrive at the elections office as long as they are received within seven days of the election.
If you voted a conditional or provisional ballot, these are typically the last of the ballots to be processed, because workers need time to verify that you are registered to vote in the county and haven't already voted in this election.
Santa Barbara County will provide its first post-election update on Tuesday, Nov. 15. According to Clerk-Recorder Joseph Holland, these results will include most of the remaining vote-by-mail ballots received through Election Day. Conditional and provisional ballot results will come out later.
County elections offices have until December 8, 2022, to certify the election results.
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