What Happens To Your Ballot After You Cast Your Vote?

AUBURN (CBS13) — For most voters, the journey with the ballot ends when they drop it off or put it in the mailbox. But after it leaves your hands, it goes through a whole different process.

"We can probably do about 200-300 ballots an hour," said Ryan Ronco, Placer County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters. "It's really just a matter of us being able to keep up with this process."

In Placer County, it takes 1,600 people to get the votes counted by election deadlines. But it takes a mix of people and machines working together to get the ballots counted on time.

First, they pull the paper tab to reveal the signature on the envelope and then, to make sure that signature is valid, every envelope goes into the sorting machine called the Agilis. A photo of the signature is taken and then compared to the signature on the voter's registration.

"Voters have said over the years that they really appreciate the fact that we protect that signature," Ronco said.

If the two signatures don't match, the ballot goes to three to four additional sets of eyes for review. With 225,000 voters registered in the county this time around, the Agilis makes it faster and cheaper to get ballots processed. Then, it's time to open up the envelopes.

"It's going to be quickly examined, for any type of marks, any type of need for possible duplication," Ronco said.

The state requires duplication if a ballot has any marks or notes tying it back to a voter. Then, it's put through the ballot machine and seconds later, the votes are sent to the computer. But the system won't show the results until Election Day.

The whole process takes anywhere from one to two hours, depending on how many hands are on deck.

"It's exciting for us," Ronco said. "This is our time to shine. This is what we've been planning for, for literally 9 months."

If you make a mistake on the amount of postage, your ballot will still be mailed. But keep in mind, many mail carriers will automatically return an envelope with no stamp, which could keep your ballot from arriving on time.

In California, there are two deadlines: if you hand in your ballot in person, it must be received by 8pm on Election Day and if you send it by mail, it must be postmarked by Election Day and received by 5pm on Monday November 14th.