A behind the scenes look at how Fresno County processes mail-in ballots

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Although polls closed Tuesday night, election staff are still working hard, sorting through mail-in ballots.

"It's just a question of volume," Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus said. "I mean, we're getting 50,000 ballots on one day."

One by one, Fresno County election workers are going through those ballots. It is an intentionally long process to prevent errors while ensuring every vote counts.

On Wednesday, Action News got a rare behind-the-scenes look.

In the first step, election workers receive the ballots. They come from several places, including drop boxes, vote centers, and the postal service. Workers put them in batches.

From there, ballots head to the all-important signature review process. A machine scans the barcode on the envelope and compares your signature to the one on file from your voter registration.

If the computer cannot match those two signatures up automatically, it would go to election workers for a manual review.

"In California, the law says we must assume that the signature on a voter's envelope is the voter's signature," Kus said.

With most signatures accepted, the ballots keep moving. Keep in mind that the envelopes are not even open yet.

Next is a machine called the jogger. It shakes the envelopes to get the ballots into the right spot inside.

A machine then turns the ballots away from election workers to protect your privacy. Nobody in the process ever knows how you voted.

With the envelopes sliced open by a machine, election workers begin unfolding them. It is an entirely manual step done by hand for every ballot.

Finally, workers in a separate room tabulate the votes, ensuring your voice counts.

Officials say the long process protects voters and election security.

"97 to 98 percent of all ballots will be counted before the end of next week, probably by Wednesday," Kus said.

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