Help Verify the Vote: Observe California's Manual Count

Election Day has come to a close and the ballot counting has begun. Like many of you, I will be up this evening watching the returns on TV and online. I also will, over the upcoming weeks, be visiting several county election offices to observe their one percent manual counts.

Under state law, counties must recount, in public and by hand, the ballots from one percent of their precincts and compare the hand-counted results to the software-counted results. This is what some consider to be the most important procedure in the election. It provides the public with a window into the vote counting process.

You can help verify the vote in California by observing the manual count. CVF has put together "Observing Manual Counts - A Checklist and Questionnaire" to help observers. If you'd like additional information, please email me, kimalex- at -calvoter.org. Additional information about California's manual count law is available.