Public is Welcome to Observe the Audit Process
May 6, 2016

Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: David Tom, Elections Division Manager

(Redwood City, CA) At 8:30 a.m. on May 11, 2016, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin the One Percent Manual Tally of the votes cast in the May 3, 2016 Brisbane School District and Menlo Park City Elementary School District Special Mail Ballot Election. The legally required One Percent Manual Tally is a key procedure in the canvass of an election and takes place during the Official Canvass of the Vote. The Official Canvass begins once the polls have closed on Election Day and must be finished within 30 days following an election. This process ensures the accuracy of the vote before the official results are certified. 

“The manual tally is one of the final steps in the accountability of an election. The purpose of the manual tally is to verify the accuracy of the electronic count and provide confirmation that the conduct of the election was proper,” said San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Mark Church. 

Official election results will not be certified until the canvass is completed and the votes of each of the contests on the ballot are upheld by the validations from the One Percent Manual Tally. This process will take approximately one day to complete, after which the Chief Elections Officer will certify and publish the official results no later than June 2, 2016. The official certified results, known as the Statement of the Vote, will be published on the Registration & Elections Division website, www.shapethefuture.org.

In order to begin the conduct of the One Percent Manual Tally, precincts are selected for manual tally by using a random process that involves throwing three ten-sided dice where the resulting three numbers are matched to a corresponding precinct number.

The One Percent Manual Tally, including the rolling of the dice, is a completely transparent process that the public is welcome to observe. Past observers have rolled the dice to help select the precincts.

To conduct the One Percent Manual Tally, election officials will work in teams of four, called a precinct board, to manually read, call out, record, and tally votes. 

The One Percent Manual Tally will be held at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. Please call 650.312.5222 if you wish to observe or be a part of the process in selecting precincts.


The press release is displayed in its original format. San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections website now resides at www.smcacre.org

Related Contacts

Mark Church

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer
555 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063-1665Get Directions
Phone:
650.363.4988

Jim Irizarry

Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Asst. Chief Elections Officer
555 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063-1665Get Directions
Phone:
650.363.4988