As a result of recent changes in state law, in-person early voting results will be reported later than usual on election night next week’s primary, and state officials say the changes may cause Election Day results to be reported later as well.
Previously, county boards of elections could tabulate early voting results before the close of polls, then report those results almost immediately at 7:30 p.m. on election night.
Under changes to the law, county boards have to wait until 7:30 p.m. to “close the polls” on early voting tabulators and begin the process of counting and reporting results of ballots cast during the early voting period.
That will take about 30 to 60 minutes – and possibly longer in some counties – before unofficial early voting results can be posted publicly on the State Board of Elections’ Election Results Dashboard.
Because the March 5 primary will be the first election held under the new law, election officials do not know exactly how long it will delay the reporting of results.
