The process was not a huge undertaking, says Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons, because Kent County decentralized its early voting.
“Each of our local jurisdictions are running their own early voting sites.”
More than 57,600 voters cast in-person ballots during early voting, while over 114,000 returned absentee ballots before polls closed.
While her office prepared for contingencies, Posthumus Lyons says they encountered only a few minor tabulator issues across the county.
“When that does happen, and a tabulator has to get repaired or replaced, voters continue to cast their ballots. They place those in a secure auxiliary bin on the tabulator. And then it is unlocked by the election inspectors. Once the tabulator’s up and running, those inspectors, Republican and Democrat, will tabulate those ballots. So even if the tabulator goes down, those votes are still counted.”
As polls closed, the focus shifted to counting and reporting.
“We don't sacrifice accuracy for speed, but we do try to get those results out to the public and just as soon as we can. We want our people to know the elections here are secure, transparent, fair and accurate.”
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