KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Kent County Board of Canvassers has certified the Kent County results of the Nov. 3 general election.
“The work that the Canvassers do is critically important as it’s the final checks-and-balances in our process. I want to commend our Board of Canvassers for their diligent work and dedication to reaffirming that Kent County’s election was secure, accurate, and transparent.” said Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons.
According to a press release from the the county clerk's office, the Board of Canvassers convened on Nov. 5. They held public meetings each weekday until completing the canvass on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The law requires the canvass to be completed no later than two weeks after each Election Day.
The official county canvass documents will be delivered Wednesday, Nov. 18 to the state Bureau of Elections for inclusion in the statewide canvass. With the canvass concluded, candidates have until Monday, Nov. 23 to request a county-level recount, the clerk's office explained.
Now that the canvass is complete, and after statewide certification, the county clerk’s office said it would conduct the legally required post-election audits. The audits will happen in randomly-selected precincts where the county clerk's office performed additional measures to verify that the election was administered correctly and that results were accurate. The county clerk's office said one of the additional steps was conducting a manual hand-recount of the ballots in two contested races.
“Michigan’s process of conducting elections is deliberative and extensive. Counting every legal vote accurately is our number one priority, and we spend a month after every election to ensure that Kent County elections are secure, transparent, and fair,” Lyons added.
The Kent County Board of Canvassers, composed of two Republicans and two Democrats, reviews the precinct materials from Election Day, including a list of voters, tabulator tapes, election worker notes and reports, and double checks those results against results electronically submitted to the county to ensure the balance between the number of votes reported vs. the number of ballot issued.
The board also verifies that the results in the county’s Election Management Software match the results printed by each tabulator. During this process, the Board often re-tabulates any precinct that does not balance. If there was any irregularity in the tabulation of votes cast, the Board of Canvassers would catch that discrepancy. Board proceedings are always open to the public and we encourage media and public to observe the canvass.
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