The following is a statement from Verified Voting. For additional press inquiries, please contact aurora@newheightscommunications.com
PHILADELPHIA (November 4, 2020) — “We must give election officials the time they need to count and verify every ballot – doing so is a sign that our democracy is working. Mail ballots require different processing procedures (such as checking the ballot envelopes for eligibility, signature checking, sorting and preparing them to be scanned) and because of the increase in mail ballots this year, this is taking more time. This is especially true in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which do not allow for the processing of mail ballots before Election Day.
“No election is certified until all canvassing procedures are complete, and this year is no exception. There are good reasons for this post-election certification window. This period provides a crucial line of national defense against leading election security threats. It also allows for the receipt of absentee ballots for military and overseas voters, the adjudication of provisional ballots, and procedural audits of ballots cast. Depending on the jurisdiction, other types of post-election audits including risk-limiting audits are also conducted during this time to check that the computers counted the ballots accurately. Verified Voting recommends robust post-election audits of paper ballots as a key election security measure.”
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