With More than 22,600 UOCAVA and Provisional Votes Out, Officials Focused on Getting it Right

(Atlanta) - With counting continuing in numerous counties throughout Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that as of 3:00 p.m. today there are approximately 8,400 military and overseas ballots (UOCAVA), and 14,200 provisional ballots outstanding.

“Officials in numerous counties are continuing to count ballots, with strong security protocols in place to protect the integrity of our election,” said Raffensperger. “We have long anticipated – and said publicly – that counting would most likely take place into Wednesday night and perhaps Thursday morning. We’re on pace to accomplish that responsibly, ensuring that the voice of every eligible voter is heard. It’s important to act quickly, but it’s more important to get it right.”

Raffensperger noted numerous security measures in place to secure the vote and increase public confidence in the electoral process:

 

• Absentee drop boxes were locked at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, preventing illegal voting or potential fraud.
• Surveillance cameras monitored drop boxes at all times.
• State monitor is in the room with Fulton County for all counts and the public is welcome to observe any county as an added layer of transparency.
• A pre-certification audit will provide additional confidence that the votes were accurately counted.

 

“We’re well aware that with a close presidential election and the possibility of runoffs in some elections that the eyes of the state and the nation are upon Georgia at this time,” Raffensperger said. “We’re as anxious as anyone to see the final results and to start work on certification and planning for our runoff elections. As the work goes on, I want to assure Georgia voters that every legal vote was cast and accurately counted.”

The documents included below provide a breakdown of the outstanding UOCAVA ballots by county for those counties that have provided data and the provisional ballots that have been cast statewide.

UOCAVA Ballots

An additional approximately 8,410 military and overseas absentee ballots have been sent out to requesters but not yet returned. Such ballots, if postmarked by Election Day, can be accepted within three days of Election Day.

The excel document titled “UOCAVA Update 11062020” provides total numbers and a county by county breakdown of the total number UOCAVA ballots that have been accepted and that have not yet been returned.

Provisional Ballots

There are also more than 14,200 provisional ballots that have been received by county elections officials. Provisional ballots are used in several situations and handled differently based on the situation. If a voter tries to cast a ballot at the wrong precinct, they cast a provisional ballot and only the races relevant to their assigned precinct are counted. If a voter attempts to cast a ballot but is not listed as a registered voter, they vote a provisional ballot, which is set aside until county officials or the voter him or herself clarifies their registration status. Lastly, provisional ballots are used for any votes cast during court extended voting hours.

The document entitled “Known Provisionals 10-6 3pm” contains the information the Office of the Secretary of State had available as of 3 pm on November 6 on the provisional ballots received by counties in Georgia. Data was not available for all counties. Fulton County is not included in this document. A key explaining the various codes is included to the right of the data set.

An additional document, “Fulton Provisional Recap Notice Nov3,” contains the data on provisional ballots received by Fulton County as of noon on November 6.

UOCAVA_Update_11062020.xlsx 

Fulton_Provisional_Recap_Notice_Nov3.docx 

Known_Provisionals_10-6_3pm2.xlsx 

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