verifying

Election officials began processing and verifying vote-by-mail ballots 29 days before election day; however, registered voters who cast their ballot by mail had various ways to turn them in.

Once the polls close, elections officials have the daunting task of processing and verifying ballots before they begin the tally.

Up to 29 days before election day, county elections officials can begin processing and verifying all vote-by-mail ballots to ensure the ballot envelopes are signed and the signatures match the signatures on file.

Processing, verifying and counting those particular ballots starts at 10 p.m. on election night and continues until all ballots are counted.

Verifying and counting ballots is expected to take at least a few days, if not weeks.