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The Exciting Life Of A Snail-Mail Ballot -- And The Weary Workers Who Gut Them
Ballots are counted in Norwalk on November 7, 2018 (Photo by Emily Dugdale)
Some races have already been called. But at the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder office in Norwalk, a small army of weary workers are sifting through the thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots that still have to be verified and processed.
We took a trip to HQ to check out the ballot counting process. A spokesperson said they have 30 days to verify the numbers. Dean Logan, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk told us, "California has a very long post-election canvas period, but that's to facilitate making sure every valid vote gets counted before you certify those results."
"Oftentimes people say, well how can it be that they've called the winner in that congressional seat when you're still counting the vote. From an official standpoint, those results aren't certified until we finish the count."
Here's what Democracy looks like, one envelope at a time.
FIRST...
First stop for the ballots is this area, where workers are opening the green shipping packets and organizing ballots. The supervisor told me each bag has 75-100 ballots. This worker came in at 7AM to start her shift. #ElectionResults2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/ILeAhIVhae
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
NEXT...
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Next, the ballots are delivered to a machine that opens the ballots by cutting the slit at the top. It’s pretty noisy! #ElectionResults2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/mbudnCZYzY
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
THEN...
Then the ballots are handed to workers who stack the ballots and prepare them to get sent to a different room to be counted. I tried to get access to that room - spokesperson told me media isn’t allowed to go there. #ElectionResults2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/YYQckCd32n
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
FINALLY...
Then, the ballots receive stickers with special tracking numbers, and are packed into boxes for transportation. #ElectionResults2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/zqZ9Ok6aYf
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
80 PEOPLE STRONG, 1,000 WORKERS HIRED
Spokesperson Brenda Duran tells me that there are about 80 people here this morning working to get the ballots opened and processed. In total, the county hired about 1,000 workers for this election. 🗳 #ElectionResults2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/QUyOZQjUs6
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
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BYO SOUNDTRACK
Some of these workers worked last night too, and were here early this morning to start another shift. There’s upbeat music playing, but a lot of people like this worker have their headphones in. #ElectionNight2018 @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/qoHd9uKxED
— Emily Elena Dugdale (she/her) (@eedugdale) November 7, 2018
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