BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — With 414 precincts and 105 poll sites throughout the county, the Kern County Elections Office is working day and night to complete the official canvass of an election.
All precincts in Kern are 100% complete, but County Auditor-Controller Aimee Espinoza said that does not mean each ballot has been counted yet.
“We’re still looking at what we have, what we got in on election day, vote by mail ballots,” said Espinoza. “What the public is seeing from those results right now is that we’ve accounted for all of those precincts on election night.”
Espinoza said the county is aiming to finalize ballots to the state sooner than the April 4 deadline.
“What we’re shooting for is at least two days prior,” said Espinoza. “A lot of people want us to certify as soon as possible, but part of that process is also for ballots that come in… If someone forgets to sign their envelope, or if their signature doesn’t match, we have an opportunity to cure their signatures, so there is notification that goes out to the voter. It is our intent to get as many of those back and counted as we can prior to certification.”
Espinoza said the county is trying to count faster than in the past, and it is easier this time because there were fewer in-person voters, making processing ballots much quicker.
“We’re a pretty well-oiled machine, and we pretty much have all local and outlying areas counted before Ridgecrest comes in and then it kind of slows down,” said Espinoza. “Then Ridgecrest comes in, we get those all counted, and then we’re done with the counting of ballots.”
Espinoza also attributes the count pace to new changes, such as the county’s new second sorter.
“There were improvements to be made,” said Espinoza. “We made those improvements and it’s paying off.”
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