NORFOLK, Va. — Election Day is almost upon us and in Virginia and North Carolina, you may have some questions about how the votes will be counted once the polls close.
Depending on where you live, you may be casting your ballot to vote for various school boards, city councils, and mayoral positions. 13News Now breaks down three things to know before November 5.
How long will it take to count the votes?
Election officials in both Virginia and North Carolina said once a ballot is officially processed, your vote is immediately counted.
However, it's not until the polls close that the process of reporting results and tabulating all of the votes will officially start.
In Virginia, this will begin after the polls close at 7 p.m. In North Carolina, the polls close at 7:30 p.m.
The Virginia Department of Elections and the North Carolina State Board of Elections do not have a timeline for how long it will take to report the results, but they will show up online after the polls close. Election night vote totals are considered unofficial and won't be considered final until certification.
The department's online results page breaks down results by five different types of voting methods, individual races, localities, and precincts.
In what order will the votes be counted?
The count will start with early votes, mailed absentee ballots, and Election Day results once the polls close.
Election officials will then count provisional ballots and absentee ballots that were postmarked by Election Day but received afterward.
In Virginia, the local electoral board must certify all provisional ballots by Monday, Nov. 15. In North Carolina, the deadline is set on Nov. 14.
Will there be a recount of votes?
Under Virginia's law, a candidate can request a recount where there is under a 1% difference in the vote total between candidates in a race.
Under North Carolina's law, a candidate may demand a recount if the difference between the votes for that candidate and the votes for a prevailing candidate is not more than 0.5% of the votes cast, or 10,000 votes, whichever is less.
