Election Night results for contests in Santa Cruz County will be posted online at www.votescount.com

Once the polls close at 8 p.m., election officials will release results of the absentee ballots that have been returned. These totals typically represent at least half of all the absentee ballots that are cast in the election. The remaining ballots are processed and counted in the weeks following the election.

Precinct ballots usually start reporting in at around 9:15 p.m. It can easily take until after midnight to process all precinct ballots on Election Night. Once the last ballot has been counted, semi-official results will be posted online.

During the canvass procedures that begin on November 6, the remaining absentee ballots are processed and prepared for counting. This process could take a couple of weeks depending on the number of ballots. In addition, there are usually hundreds of provisional ballots that have been cast by Election Day that need to be researched and voter eligibility determined before those ballots can be counted.

Telephones will be staffed throughout the night for callers to phone in and obtain results. CALL 831-454-2060. Election results by contest are simple to provide over the phone. However, if you are interested in obtaining more specific voting result information, we encourage you to be present at the Elections Department at 701 Ocean Street, Room 210, in Santa Cruz.

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For more information, please call the Santa Cruz County Elections Department at 831-454-2060, visit our office at 701 Ocean St., Room 210 in Santa Cruz, or check out our website at www.votescount.com.