ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It is perfectly OK if people go to bed on election night and it isn't known whether President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden won.
That's because there are clear processes in place to ensure not only the ballots received are counted, but they are accurate. In Florida, there are a few key events that happen before everything becomes official.
And all doesn't happen on Election Day.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day, and voters can visit their designated county precinct between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time. If someone still has a mail-in ballot that hasn't been cast -- don't mail it but hand it off at a Supervisor of Elections office.
Within 30 minutes after polls close, county canvassing boards can begin filing preliminary election results with the Florida Department of State. This is when TV networks can begin relaying results to the public, and CBS News and 10 Tampa Bay will do so on air, online and on social media.
But those results aren't yet the final tally.
Florida law allows until 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, for voters to submit a ballot "cure," if necessary, should an issue arise with validating a vote-by-mail ballot. Once fixed, the vote is counted.
Even 10 days after Election Day, there might still be votes coming in, this time from an absent military member or overseas voter. If their ballot is postmarked/signed and dated no later than Election Day but received by Friday, Nov. 13, it still counts.
Finally, the Florida Elections Canvassing Commission meets on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to certify the results of the election. This includes federal, state and local races. Once certified, the result becomes official.
As defined: "Elections Canvassing Commission meets to certify Official Results for federal, state, and multicounty offices."
Remember, Biden or Trump may be projected to win Florida based on the results coming in, but the final result isn't official until the Nov. 17 certification process.
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