Elections Office Canvass Process Update

The Yolo County Elections Office began the canvass process for the 2020 Presidential Primary Election on March 5, 2020 to ensure every eligible ballot is counted accurately. The time allowed to complete the canvass for this election is thirty days (30).

The Elections Office conducted a public manual tally of 1% of the Election Night precinct results that began on Friday March 6th and was completed on March 10th. The counts balanced and there were no inconsistencies.

On Election Night in Yolo County, 32,266 ballots were processed and tallied for the 2020 Presidential Primary Election. This figure included Vote by Mail ballots that were received through March 1st and precinct ballots cast at the polling locations.

During the canvass period the Elections Office reconciles all provisional and conditional ballots, in addition to all the Vote by Mail ballots that were submitted just prior to Election Day, on Election Day at polling or satellite locations or postmarked on Election Day and received by the Elections Office within three days (by March 6th). During the canvass period, Vote by Mail ballots that were returned to other counties are also forwarded to their respective counties. To give a context, Yolo County has forward Vote by Mail ballots to 40 other counties over the last few days. 

As of Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 2:30 p.m., the grand total of ballots remaining to process increased by 7,155 above initial post-election figures for a new total of 32,024 ballots to be processed during the canvass period. A more detailed breakdown of the ballots being processed is provided below:

Vote by Mail Ballots (Includes ballots forwarded from other counties)

  • 25,068

Provisional Ballots

  • 2,956

Conditional Voter Registration Provisional Ballots

  • 3,109

Other (Includes unprocessed ballots that require further review or are damaged and need to be remade)

  • 891

Total Ballots

  • 32,024

Please note these figures are estimates and are subject to change. The Elections Office is still receiving Yolo County Vote by Mail ballots from other counties (deadline for receipt of Vote by Mail ballots from other counties is today, 3/11/2020).

The canvass processes take place at the Yolo County Elections Office located at 625 Court St Suite B05, Woodland, CA 95695. Visitors are welcome to observe various election activities including the canvass procedures. 

“Staff has been busy processing the very high volume of Election Day Vote by Mail submittals over the last several days in order to report accurate election results as soon as possible. The time allowed to complete the canvass for this election is thirty days; however, we anticipate to provide a significant result update within the coming days and to complete the canvass within the next two weeks” says Jesse Salinas, Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters.

We encourage Yolo County residents to connect with Yolo County ACE – Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Elections on Facebook: /YoloACE, Instagram: /YoloCoACE, and Twitter: @YoloCoACE to receive the most up to date election results as soon as they become available.

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