The Public is Encouraged to Observe the Audit Process
April 30, 2021

Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

(Redwood City, CA) At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 7, 2021, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will randomly select the voting precincts and Vote by Mail batches to be included in the One Percent Manual Tally for the May 4, 2021 Portola Valley School District Special Mail Ballot Election. The random drawing and the One Percent Manual Tally will be held at the Registration & Elections Division at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo.

The One Percent Manual Tally is a legally required election canvassing procedure that takes place after the polls have closed on Election Day. The One Percent Manual Tally ensures the accuracy of the vote before the official results are certified.

The procedure begins with the randomized selection of precincts from the Vote Center and batches of Vote by Mail ballots. Selection is determined by rolling three ten-sided dice and matching the resulting three numbers to a corresponding voting precinct or Vote by Mail batch.

Both the random drawing and the One Percent Manual Tally are open to the public; no appointment is necessary. Past observers have rolled the dice to help select the precincts and the batches. The random drawing will also be livestreamed on our Twitter page @smcvote.

The subsequent manual tally is expected to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 10, 2021. Election officials will work in teams of four (called a “tally team”) to manually read, call out, record, and tally votes by hand.

This process will continue during weekdays until the audit is complete. The Chief Elections Officer will then certify and publish the official results no later than Thursday, June 3, 2021. The official certified results, known as the Statement of the Vote, will be published on www.smcacre.org.

Please call 650.312.5222 if you wish to observe the manual tally or be a part of the process of selecting precincts and batches. Follow @smcvote on Instagram and Twitter for updates.

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