Recently, we have had several questions about the handling of absentee ballots in Beaufort County. Apparently, there have been reports that some areas of the country do not count absentee ballots unless they think they could affect the election in question.

Beaufort County can begin tabulating absentee ballots on the morning of Election Day. This makes them among the first ballots counted. These ballots are tabulated with all the other votes at the end of the day and reported with the preliminary total counts at the end of election night.

The election results are not certified until after the canvass hearing of the board on the Friday following the election. In this meeting, all approved provisional ballots are entered into the system and then total vote counts are verified and certified by a vote of our board members.

This letter is to assure all voters that all votes are counted, and every vote counts. Please go out and vote in this very important election.

Ron Clifford, chairman

Board of Voter Registration

And Elections

Beaufort