How ballots are counted in North Carolina elections

Many North Carolinians are already making their voice heard at the polls for this year's general election by voting by mail or heading to early in-person voting sites. There are over 7.7 million registered voters in North Carolina this year and some important races up and down the ballot, from the president of the United States to the North Carolina governor and state legislative races.

But what happens to your ballot once you've filled it out? With rising tensions surrounding the security of voting and certifying elections, it's a question many voters have.

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Tabulators, machines that scan ballots, read and record voters' selections and transcribe them onto paper and USB sticks.

After Election Day, boards of elections conduct what's called canvassing, a process that ensures counting accuracy and takes place before making results official. Part of this process includes audits like checking for fraud, ballot stuffing or tampering. There are many types of audits, for example, comparing the number of authorization to vote forms, a form you fill out at the polling location, with the number of ballots cast.

Another audit compares counts from voting equipment to hand counts to make sure the machines were working correctly. Two voting sites in each county get randomly selected to participate in this process called hand-to-eye count.

For a full explanation of each type of audit, visit the State Board of Elections website.

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Votes are counted as soon as a voter inserts their ballot into the tabulator, but it will take time for a person's voter history to reflect that online. You can search for your voting history through the voter search tool on the Board of Elections website.

Provisional ballots are cast when a voter encounters a roadblock when attempting to vote. Things like inability to verify someone's registration status or a lack of photo ID, among other things, could cause someone to fill out a provisional ballot. The board of elections researches each case and decides if they are to be counted. This process could include things like checking Division of Motor Vehicle records or registration databases.

The status of a provisional ballot can be tracked on the Provisional Search tool on the Board of Elections website.

Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene on Western North Carolina, 25 counties are eligible to return their absentee ballots to county board of elections offices that they are not registered in. If they return their ballot to a board other than their own, their ballot will be sent to the correct board and that county board will count the voter's ballot.

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To track the status of a mail-in ballot, sign up for BallotTrax on the Board of Elections website. You can even sign up for alerts and it can notify you if any issues arise with your ballot.

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Aside from canvassing and the audits conducted, there a few other ways elections are protected from fraud, and mistakes.

The technology used in ballot counting goes through testing to make sure they accurately code and count ballots. The tested machines are locked and sealed with tamper-evident seals. For a look into the process, watch a video showing the logic and accuracy testing process on the Board of Elections YouTube. The tested machines are stored in a locked room until used for voting.

The machines also require "a unique physical equipment key to turn the equipment on and to access any media port on the equipment," according to the Board of Elections website. "Only authorized individuals may have keys and security codes to open voting machines."

Additionally, voting equipment is not allowed to be connected to the internet so that there is less risk of interference. Voting machines do not contain modem chips.

See what specific vote counting system your county uses on Election Day on the Board of Elections website.